The Greatest Show (Willow Son #5/Brothers of Rock #20) (9 page)

“
I
’
m sure it doesn
’
t hurt that he
’
s freaking gorgeous,
”
Cassie said with a devilish
grin.

“
Down
girl. You
’
re married.
”

“
To
a lawyer.
”

“
I
’
m sure Ted is wild in bed.
Probably uses really big legal words.
”

“
Yeah,
right,
”
Cassie said.
“
Caveman grunts.
”

Emma laughed.
“
That I didn
’
t need to hear.
”

“
Listen,
Em, you do whatever you have to do. Thank you for telling me this. I won
’
t try yelling at him next time
he
’
s sneaking around on
your porch.
”

“
He
’
s on the porch now. He
’
s making arrangements to get
some dinner delivered. I need to really sit and talk with him about Seth. Make
sense of all this.
”

“
Okay.
If you need anything, you call me. I don
’
t
know what kind of arrangement you have, but if you need legal advice
…
my grunting caveman can help.
”

“
My
gosh,
”
Emma said.
“
I
’
ll
never look at Ted the same now. Thanks for that.
”

“
You
’
re welcome.
”

“
Hey,
when you go out there, send Brantley in.
”

“
If
I can pick my jaw up off the porch,
”
Cassie said with a wink. She then mouthed
so fucking hot
…

Emma had never seen her get so hot
and bothered before.

The power of Brantley.

Emma knew that power
…
and she needed to fight
it off
…

**

“
I
’
m crashing up here for a little
bit,
”
Brantley said.

“
Do
your thing,
”
Colby said.
“
It
’
s
fine. I talked to Harry and he relayed the message to Portis. The news songs
are almost mixed. Portis loves what we
’
re
doing. It
’
s all smooth and
fine. We have a few shows planned but we can cancel or move them.
”

“
No,
”
Brantley said.
“
I
’
ll
be there for the shows. I
’
m
not bailing on you guys. I just have to manage all of it. I
’
m not used to this yet.
”

“
I
can
’
t imagine,
”
Colby said.
“
What
’
s happening with the kid?
”

“
I
met him. I didn
’
t say much.
I don
’
t want to confuse
him. I
’
m letting Emma take
the lead on it all. I just
…
I just want to get through to her. Make her realize I
’
m not here for a second and then leaving.
”

“
You
’
ll get there,
”
Colby said.
“
I can
’
t believe all this.
”

“
Neither
can I. But if there was a person
…
you know, that one person
…”

“
Christ,
”
Van yelled into the phone.
“
Are you falling in love already?
”

Already?

“
I
’
m on speakerphone?
”

“
Yeah,
”
Colby said.
“
Sorry.
”

Brantley heard the front door
behind him. He turned and saw Cassie give a nervous wave.

“
Hey,
hold on,
”
Brantley said to
her. He put his phone on speaker.
“
Is
Ryker there?
”

Cassie shook her head.
“
No.
”

Brantley smiled big. He nodded.

“
Yeah,
I
’
m here,
”
Ryker said through the phone.

Cassie gasped.

“
Hey,
brother, I
’
ve got a big fan
of yours here,
”
Brantley
said.
“
She
’
s a little starstruck right now.
”

“
Is
she hot?
”
Ryker asked.

“
You
’
re on speaker, man,
”
Brantley said.

“
I
don
’
t care. I asked a
question.
”

“
Just
say hi to her.
”

“
Hey
stranger,
”
Ryker said.

“
Uh
…
hey,
”
Cassie said. She was shaking.

“
She
sounds hot,
”
Ryker said.

“
Bro,
you have a girlfriend,
”
Brantley said.
“
And Cassie
is happily married.
”

“
That
doesn
’
t bother me,
”
Ryker said.

“
Okay
then,
”
Brantley said.
“
I
’
m
hanging up. You guys stay out of trouble.
”

“
You
do the same,
”
Colby said.
“
Good luck with everything, man.
Don
’
t fuck this up.
”

Brantley ended the call.
“
Believe me now?
”

“
I
never doubted it,
”
Cassie
said.
“
I can
’
t believe I just talked to Ryker
on the phone.
”

“
Are
you leaving? You could stay and eat with us if you want.
”

“
No,
I
’
m good. I think you and
Emma
…”
Cassie put a hand
out.
“
It
’
s not my business.
”

“
I
’
m not here to hurt anyone.
”

“
Okay.
Just
…
you know what? Listen
to your band. Don
’
t fuck
this up.
”

With that said, Cassie walked off
the porch.

Brantley turned and saw Emma
standing with the door.

He knew walking through that door
was going to change his life forever.

But the second Emma smiled at him,
he didn
’
t give a damn about
change.
Not if it put him with Emma once and for all.

(10)

Everything was foreign to Brantley
as he watched Emma interact with Seth. The kid was fun as hell though. The way
he talked about fighting, ninjas, weapons, and bad guys, it was amazing. His
mind was beautiful and in some way, he was artistic. By creating these worlds
in his mind and fighting bad guys, Brantley was quick enamored.

Brantley put his and Emma
’
s food in the oven and left it
there to stay warm. Seth was supposed to be in bed thirty minutes ago but he
was swinging a dishtowel making
hi-yah
sounds as he jumped from the
couch to the floor.

“
Nice
jump,
”
Brantley said.

Seth looked at him. There was a
split second where Brantley almost felt as though Seth knew.

“
Looks
like you
’
ve got your hands
full,
”
Brantley said.
“
How many bad guys are there?
”

“
Four.
And I
’
m all alone.
”

“
Wow,
”
Brantley said. He slid from the
chair to a crouching position.
“
You
know, Seth, I play drums, right? I have some drumsticks with me. I can help
you. I mean, you don
’
t need
it, but I
’
m there, man.
”

“
Really?
”
Seth asked.
“
Wow. So you
’
re a ninja drummer?
”

“
Yeah.
Ninja drummer.
”

“
Cool!
”

“
Stay
right there.
”

Brantley hurried out to his car,
his heart racing. It was so dumb, right? His first interaction with his son and
it was over a set of drumsticks, pretending he was a ninja? Or maybe that
’
s what the father thing was all
about.

When Brantley rushed back inside,
Emma stood there, arms crossed.

“
What?
”
he asked her.

“
Nothing.
By all means. Go get the bad guys.
”

“
Are
you going to make some comment about me looking in the mirror?
”

“
No,
not at all.
”

Brantley went to the living room
and crouched down. He showed Seth his drumsticks. Funny that there were people
that would give anything to have Brantley
’
s
drumsticks.

“
Whoa,
”
Seth said.
“
Those are cool.
”

“
Tell
you what
…
let
’
s finish off these bad guys
…
and then you have to catch some
sleep. I
’
ll let you keep
the drumsticks on your nightstand, just in case.
”

“
Really?
Thanks.
”

“
Sure,
man. Okay, what do we do?
”

Seth walked to a large teddy bear
and balanced it against a wall. He bit his tongue as he did so. Brantley
smiled. The kid was beautiful. Perfect. Cool as anything.

“
You
have to fight him,
”
Seth
said.
“
I
’
ll fight the other one.
”

“
Okay.
Here we go.
”

Brantley moved forward, crouched
down. He mimicked Seth
’
s
ninja sounds and heard Emma laugh. He looked at her and shrugged his shoulders.
He then faced the teddy bear and reached for its leg.

“
Oh,
no,
”
Brantley said.

He swung the bear
’
s foot and purposely let a
drumstick fly out of his hand. He then put the bear on top of him.

“
Help,
Seth,
”
Brantley said.
“
He
’
s
got me!
”

Seth let out a yell and jumped at
the bear. He started to punch and kick. Brantley rolled away from the bear and
got to his knees.

“
Hold
him up!
”
Brantley said.

Seth picked the bear up.

Brantley lunged forward and jammed
the drumstick into the bear
’
s
stomach.

“
Yes!
”
Seth cried out.
“
You did it.
”

The bear fell and Brantley lifted
his drumstick.
“
We did it,
man.
”

He put his fist out and Seth did
the same. They touched and Brantley smiled.

“
Hey,
go get that drumstick,
”
Brantley said.

There was something about watching
Seth touch a drumstick. He held it like a sword, amazed.

“
Okay,
man,
”
Brantley said.
“
I think we did it. You can keep
that drumstick, okay? But you have to make me a promise.
”

“
What?
”
Seth asked.

“
You
can
’
t hit anyone with it.
It
’
s very powerful. Okay?
”

Seth nodded.

“
Only
for the bad guys, Seth. Right?
”

He kept nodding.

“
Okay,
Seth,
”
Emma said.
“
Why don
’
t you say goodnight to Brantley. Let
’
s go get some sleep.
”

“
Seth,
can I keep this drumstick?
”
Brantley asked.
“
In case
anything happens down here?
”

“
Are
you sleeping over?
”
Seth
asked. He smiled big.

“
I
…
uh
…
uh
…”

“
Seth,
just say goodnight.
”

“
Goodnight,
man,
”
Brantley said.

“
Goodnight,
”
Seth said.

He walked to the stairs slowly,
looking back. Brantley could feel the tug in his chest. Goddamn, he wanted to
just grab the kid and hug him.

Seth made it up two steps and Brantley
stood up.

He
’
s my son. Even if I wasn
’
t there
…

“
Wait,
”
Brantley said.
“
Real ninjas
…
they hug before saying goodbye.
Or goodnight.
”

Brantley walked to the steps. He
looked at Emma and nodded. He was begging with his eyes.

He leaned down and felt Seth
’
s little arms wrap around his
neck. He put one hand to the kid
’
s
back and hugged him. Brantley never felt anything like that in his life. It was
so much Brantley caught himself getting overwhelmed with emotion.

He said one more goodnight and
broke away from Seth.

He walked to the kitchen and
started to get the food out of the oven. He managed to get the containers out
and then stopped. He gripped the oven door handle and gritted his teeth.

The anger for himself was rampant.
It was real.

Brantley stood there until he saw
Emma from the corner of his eye.

“
What
’
s wrong?
”
she asked.

He looked at her.
“
Everything. I am so fucking
sorry, Emma. I can
’
t
believe this happened. I can
’
t
believe I didn
’
t get up
that day in the diner and chase you down. Grab you. Tell you we could work it
out. I just sat there, not wanting to tell you my story. Not wanting to bring
you into it and hurt you. Goddamn myself.
”

Emma stepped into the kitchen. She
put a hand up Brantley
’
s
shirt and pushed at him. He turned sideways and then let Emma push him against
the fridge. A couple empty dishes on top of the fridge rattled.

“
That
’
s right,
”
Emma said.
“
Goddamn
you.
”

Brantley opened his mouth to try to
find the next set of right words to say
…
but he didn
’
t have to.

Emma moved to her toes and
kissed him.

**

Brantley grabbed her and put her on
the counter. Their mouths were going wild at one another. This had been
building for years. Lots of long years at that. Brantley grabbed the bottom of
Emma
’
s shirt and lifted. He
was going aggressive because he needed it. The emotions running through him
left him with two choices: finding a punching bag or ravage Emma right here,
right now.

Her shirt went up and over her head
and Brantley dropped it to her floor. She did the same to him. Her eyes and
hands clawed at his chest, admiring what the years of touring and hours of
drumming had done to him.

“
Oh,
shit,
”
Emma whispered.

“
We
could stop,
sexy moves
,
”
Brantley said.
“
I don
’
t want
…”

“
Shut
up,
”
Emma said.
“
Just go for it. Don
’
t be a pussy right now.
”

Holy shit. Did she just call me
a pussy?

Brantley buried his face into her
chest and kissed her. She leaned back to her elbows and let out a sigh. His
hands reached around and unsnapped her bra. Emma wiggled it off her arms and
Brantley grabbed her by her sides and nuzzled his nose to her left nipple. His
tongue rolled across her nipple and then gently sucked against her warm and
soft skin.

Emma groaned.

The memories flooded back to
Brantley.

He tasted her again, pulling at
her, loving her body just as he had done before. As his teeth grazed against
her hard nipple, he tugged until she let out a whimper. He let her go and
kissed down. Emma
’
s hand
moved to her stomach and spread wide. Brantley pulled away and then unbuttoned
her jeans. He pulled at her jeans, forcing her to lift her ass up so he could
slide them down. Her panties were black and thin, so freaking sexy. Brantley
couldn
’
t figure out why it
turned him on so much that Emma was a good mother but wore panties like this.

Goddammit
…
she
’
s still wild.

Brantley touched her wrist and
pulled.
“
It
’
s okay, Em.
”

“
No.
It
’
s not. I
’
m not the same.
”

“
Neither
am I,
”
Brantley said.

He leaned down and kissed her hand.
Slowly, he placed his lips to her fingers, one by one. He then tugged at her
wrist, sliding her hand away.

She was still fucking sexy. Her
stomach was flat, the marks from pregnancy visible, but that didn
’
t matter to Brantley. If
anything, it made her even hotter. To know all she sacrificed for another life
to come into the world.

Brantley kissed her, easing down
her belly.

Emma
’
s
hands clutched the edge of the counter as Brantley
’
s tongue slithered into her panties. He then curled
his fingers around the sides of her panties and eased them down. He watched her
beautiful sex become visible. Her skin was smooth, her folds damp with honey,
ready for tasting. The smell of her desire made Brantley groan under his
breath. He stripped her completely naked and placed his hands to her inner
thighs and opened her. His thumbs touched her soft wetness and made circles.
Emma groaned again and thrust at him, her curvy hips moving left to right, up
and down.

His left hand squeezed at her thigh
while his right hand kept touching, kept exploring. His thumb curled against
her sensitive clit. He applied pressure and made circles, watching the way Emma
’
s body reacted to his touch. She
put her head back, her perfect breasts sticking out, and was nothing but a
fucking dream to Brantley.

He half expected to snap out of it
and be standing in the bathroom to some hotel in some city with some groupie
snoring in his bed.

But this was real. It was all real.

Emma was real.

Brantley slid his thumb down,
parting her delicate folds. He then moved forward, needing to taste her. As
Brantley
’
s tongue slid
between her legs, curling gently, tasting her honey, he realized this was his
first taste of her. The last time they were together -
their first and only
time -
they hadn
’
t had
time for playing. It was just right down to business.

Emma thrust her hips and let out a
whimper.

Brantley grabbed her by the hips
and held her steady. It was obvious her needs hadn
’
t been a focal point of attention in a long time,
maybe never. And that pissed him off. Of all the ways to let a beautiful woman
down, Brantley had managed to do it all.

But with each flicker of his tongue
to Emma
’
s body, he was
going to fix it. All of it.