Brody: The Bang Shift (6 page)

“Yeah?”

“Hey, man. I need a favor.” He needed to stay on track, and he knew just what to do. “I need you to dig up everything you can on Xan Bradley. See what you can find tonight, and I’ll be at your house in the morning to go over it.” Gage was their computer guru. If anyone could find old skeletons or any information floating in cyberspace, he’d be able to do it.

There was hesitation on the line, so Brody had to rein in his anger. “Why not talk at the shop?”

“Too distracting. I need to be able to concentrate.” Translation—he didn’t need his ass handed to him by the guys. Brody asking about Xan would be like tossing fuel onto the heckling fire.
No thanks.
She might make his dick harder than steel, but he still had a job to do here. Drowning himself in research would help keep his mind on his responsibility, but he knew the assholes he worked with. They’d look at this as if he were taking a personal interest in her.

“Okay, sure. See you in the morning.”

Brody ended the call and pulled out his laptop. It felt as if his head were in a vise, and he could feel the blood pumping in his bruises. He wasn’t jumping for joy at the thought of digging up info on Xan right now, but he didn’t have a choice. His ass was working and not thinking about her luscious body.

He got as far as typing her name in the search engine when a heavy pounding sounded on his door. He jerked up, grabbing his weapon before silently walking to the door. Had Adams and his gang found him? He wasn’t taking a chance.

He clutched the doorknob, twisting it slowly as the angry banging continued. One of the things Colonel had taught the guys was to never allow vulnerability. If someone were here to kill him, the fucker would have a Glock on the peephole. His only mode of protection at this point was the element of surprise. Besides, he was ready to kill the motherfucker just for the noise his headache couldn’t take. He jerked the door open, drawing his gun as dark-blonde hair whipped about a tiny head from the force of the door opening, stirring up an enticing scent of vanilla.

“Fuck,” he breathed, dropping his gun, his heart pounding as he stared at the woman he couldn’t seem to do anything right around.

Man, he just couldn’t get through this day without one more fuckup.

Xan stared in shock at the barrel of a gun shoved in her face, her anger spiking. One would think she’d freak out, but she was already spitting mad at him that this stunt just added icing on her anger cake. Oh, there was a split second where she’d felt fear in her haze of shock—he’d shoved a gun in her face, for crying out loud—but that emotion was short-lived.

Very short-lived.

He dropped the arm with the gun, and as she drew in a breath readying herself to let him have it, her eyes finally traveled to his face from his little metal toy he was clutching as if it were his only friend.

This time when she gasped there was no anger mingling in with myriad emotions attacking her. His normally golden skin was peppered with blue and black splotches, his back rigid, eyes shielded.

“What happened to you?”

“I’m fine,” he barked at the same time as she asked her question. He obviously saw the worry building on her face before she expressed it. He sighed, shoulders relaxing a little. “I’m fine,” he repeated without the edge. “What’re you doin’ here?”

What was she doing here? Oh, right. She was here to chew him a new asshole. Somehow staring at him in this state was like sprinkling water on her flame. It wasn’t a bucket dousing it out because she still felt mad at how he’d been treating her, but something bad had happened to him, and, no matter how angry she might be with him, she didn’t want him physically hurt—unless she was the one dishing it out. “We need to talk.”

He inclined his head and stepped aside to let her in, though she didn’t get the feeling he was really acquiescing, just biding his time. He hadn’t answered her question about what had happened to him, rather he jumped right into why she was here, changing the subject. He was probably plotting excuses for his bruises or a new way to make her stay away from him.

As she stepped into his house with him following right behind her, her liquid courage seemed to disappear, and without the estrogen fest that was this evening, her resolve started to waver. Her anger was slowly evaporating, leaving behind her worry and, if she could be even more pathetic, arousal. Once she entered the minimally decorated, masculine living room, she turned, facing him.

“We do repos on the side. The guy didn’t want to give up his car.” He stepped around her to the couch, picking up an empty bottle. “You wanna beer or something?”

Couldn’t hurt to revitalize that liquid courage she was just thinking about. She nodded as she processed his answer, then watched him walk into the kitchen. She could still see him since the only thing separating that room from this one was a small bar. If she didn’t know any better, she might’ve believed that piece of bologna he’d tried to feed her about the repo. He said it so effortlessly that he might actually do those jobs on the side and he might’ve gotten into a tussle a time or two because of it. But the answer was a bit too forced and his stance a bit too nonchalant for her liking. He was trying too hard to distract her from the truth. Why? Was it because he was a private person?

Maybe it’s because he’s asked you to stay away from him and here you are inviting yourself over like you’re BFFs.

She shook off that thought as he walked back into the living room, handing her a beer. Well, if he wanted to play it like this, then fine.

“Did you get the car?” she asked, taking a sip of her beer as she sat on the couch. He followed her lead, sitting beside her but not close enough to touch.

He grunted, shaking his head. “Got away. He had some friends.”

Now
that
she believed. “Maybe you’ll have better luck next time.”

His gaze cut to her. “I’m countin’ on that.”

They sat and drank in silence for a couple of minutes. Not long, but long enough for her to get antsy. She came here for a reason, and she needed to get to it. She couldn’t wait on the beer to renew her motivation. She’d just have to discuss this without the edge of anger from before.

She eased her beer onto the table and turned to face him. Because it was the polite thing to do, he did the same, turning to face her. Though why he bothered to be polite now, she didn’t know. “What’s your deal?”

He immediately stiffened, his eyes shielding again. “What do you mean?”

She sighed, rubbing her hand in her hair and realizing she probably should’ve taken some time to gussy up a bit. Too late now. “I mean you act like you’re interested in me, but then you avoid me. This isn’t high school,” she chastised lightly. “If you regress any more, you’ll be pulling my hair and running behind the monkey bars.” She laughed to try to ease the tension in the room.

It didn’t work. His already stiff body seemed to grow, his chest expanding, his presence strengthening before her eyes. She couldn’t help it. She looked, and yeah, it looked as if he were housing a damn Louisville Slugger in his worn jeans. He was getting bigger everywhere.

“If I was pulling your hair, you’d be too busy screaming my name, and I’d be too deep inside you for you to run anyway,” he rasped.

Oh. My. God. Xan felt heat creep up her face, her nipples tighten, her pussy creaming. Any question she had about him being interested just flew out the window. She tried to latch on to her sanity before it followed that same path.

What in God’s name was she doing here? She’d avoided men ever since she’d gotten away from that psycho ex of hers and now it seemed she walked right into the lair of the very beast she’d tried shunning. She should’ve heeded Brody’s request to stay away because she just realized it wasn’t a request. It was a warning. She didn’t know how to get out of this, but one thing was for certain. She was going to kill her nosy neighbor for fueling this craziness.

“I-I should go,” she mumbled, attempting to get up. It was no use. He closed the distance between them, anchoring his hand around her tummy on her hip to keep her from moving.

“Not yet,” he breathed right before his lips crushed hers.

And there went the sanity she’d tried desperately to keep. His lips were like fire, like a balm. Both hot and soothing, moving over hers. She moaned as his hand caressed her cheek and slid into her hair. She knew all logic escaped her, but she tried to minimize the damage he was doing to her body.

“Let me in,” he growled against her lips as his hand tightened in her hair. She gasped at the erotically sharp tingle on her scalp, giving him the access he sought, breaking her last defense against his invasion.

His tongue dove into her mouth while his other hand tangled into her hair to control the kiss. He tugged at her hair, creating electrical currents that arced through her body and straight to her pussy. Then he massaged the pleasure-pain with a gentle caress. The sensation was so confusing to her mind, but pure ecstasy to her body. It was too much.

It was not enough.

Xan mimicked Brody’s actions by running her fingers through his long hair, giving herself over to the kiss. Why hadn’t she found long hair attractive on a man? She was nuts if she thought this wasn’t sexy. She fisted her hands into his locks, loving the growl that rumbled up his chest.

He broke away, trailing kisses along her jaw to the sensitive skin where her shoulder met her neck, controlling the movements of her head with his demanding hands.

This was the most exciting experience of her life, and all he was doing was kissing her. That thought brought her up short. She was out of practice, and it was obvious that this sex god knew what he was doing, stealing her breath, overloading her senses with the most pleasurable of attacks.

If she was going to give in after all these years, she wasn’t going to be timid about it. She’d worry about tomorrow when that day of regret got here, because she knew she’d regret this when her brain started working again. But for now, she’d enjoy this moment. After all, she could be a senior citizen before she let herself give in to something like this again.

As he traced his lips down to the swell of her breasts, he tugged at the straps of her tank top, exposing the right one. With an agonized sound, he sucked her nipple into the hot cavern of his mouth, drawing on it with a desperation she didn’t fully understand, but somehow seemed to share. One hand slipped between her shoulder blades, positioning her as an offering to his ravenous mouth. The other was pushed up underneath her shirt, rubbing and squeezing her other breast. And all she could do was hold on to his head as her body shook with need and a little uncertainty.

He pulled back, gripping the hem of her shirt and yanking it from her body, before descending to her newly exposed nipple, giving it the same treatment as the other, licking and sucking it so hard that it flattened to the roof of his mouth.

“Fuck, your nipples are like candy,” he groaned, alternating his attention between her breasts.

She was lost in ecstasy, in a pleasure so intense she could do nothing but let him ravish her, but her own hands ached to explore his body, and her mouth demanded to taste him all over. She might never have another chance to taste a man, and she damn well was going to do everything she could to draw his essence into her body to remember in the cold nights ahead. She freed her hands from his hair and tugged on his shirt, pulling it from his jeans. He was a little dirty, but she didn’t care. The hint of mechanical grease and male power was like an aphrodisiac she couldn’t ignore.

He lifted his head and helped her remove his shirt, staring down at her once he was divested of it. His fingers grazed her wet, swollen nipples, and she thrust them up into his touch, her head falling back as she moaned. His mouth latched on to her throat, kissing and suckling the sensitive skin, and she finally rubbed her palms along his chest, feeling his muscles bunch and tighten under her caress. He kissed up to her ear, worrying her lobe with teeth as he panted. Chills raced over her body, making her want more right now. She didn’t want to wait another minute to enjoy this man fully. She tweaked his flat nipples, squeezing and pinching them lightly as he grunted into her ear. He took her mouth again, kissing her forcefully while she clutched his jeans, finding the button and releasing it from its mooring. When the zipper rasped, his arms came around her, holding her to him tightly, one hand grabbing her hair while the other snaked around her back.

She freed his cock and couldn’t seem to grab it fast enough. He growled into her mouth as she fisted it, stroking it without mercy.

“Damn you,” he muttered when taking a breath, still kissing her. His hips jerked up, fucking her hand as she continued her assault.

He tried pushing her down onto the couch, but she wasn’t having that. She broke away from his kiss, which took effort because of the hold he had on her head. He relaxed his grip, letting her kiss his jaw, his neck, trailing down to his chest, kissing and nipping him as she went. She rubbed the flat of her tongue against his nipple, then bit down on it while she continued to jerk him off. He winced, but his hands found her hair again, holding her to him. As she resumed her exploration of his body with her mouth, she drifted down, licking his bellybutton, feeling the rasp of his hair against her tongue. She was eagerly waiting to taste his cock, and she wasn’t the only one. The hands in her hair began pushing her down, guiding her to the engorged erection. Her tongue eased out, lapping the wetness pooled at its tip. His cock jerked and he moaned, his hands tightening in her hair almost painfully. Even though feeling him guide her did kick up her excitement, she wanted to be the one in control, not him.

She ignored his cock and kissed to the side of it as she grabbed his pants and tugged. He lifted his hips enough for her to pull them down to his knees. He kicked off his shoes so she could remove his pants, but she already had enough room to work with. She kissed one thigh then the next, enjoying the rasp of his hair against her nipples. He tried tugging her head back to his cock, but she swatted at his arm. He growled in frustration, but eased up on his demand, letting her explore.

She kissed his balls before kissing and biting all over his thighs and belly, running her hands up his chest to pinch his nipples as she worked her way back up his body.

“You’re fuckin’ killing me, baby.” His hips rocked, seeking contact with anything.

As she navigated back down his abdomen, she discovered a trail of pre-cum from his dick to just below his bellybutton where it hovered.

“Mmmm.” She licked the salty treat from his tummy, tasting the sweat beading on his skin, before giving the tip of his cock a quick swipe.

He groaned, and she decided he’d had enough torture. Without any preliminaries, she took him into her mouth, to the back of her throat, sucking him hard, greedily.

“Fuck.
Fuck.
” His hips came off the couch, shoving his cock deeper. “Oh God, Xan. Like that, baby. Just like that.”

As she relished the perfect treat, she squeezed his balls, letting her finger rub the sensitive area just behind his sac. She sucked him relentlessly, taking him deep and pulling back to suck the head while her tongue rubbed under the sensitive crest, and she repeated this over and over. She hadn’t sucked a real cock in years. From the way his body was tightening and groans were escaping, she was doing everything right. But now it was time to blow his mind.

She relaxed her jaw and swallowed him, milking him with her throat, the hair at his groin tickling her nose when she took the whole thing. A low rumbling growl built deep within his chest as his hands fisted brutally in her hair. She didn’t care. The pain just added to the erotic thrill she was getting just out of giving him this pleasure.

“Fuck, Xan. I’m gonna come if you don’t stop.”

His words were a plea she ignored. She eased back a bit to breathe and slipped her finger into her mouth to wet it, then trailed it down to his ass, rimming the entrance. She swallowed him again as she probed for entry.

He shouted a litany of curses, trying to hold back, but his attempt was futile. Within seconds his whole body stiffened, his cock growing impossibly hard. “I’m coming,” he groaned. “Swallow me, baby. Take it all. Fuck!”

The first splash down her throat startled her, but she worked her throat, swallowing his seed, milking him and taking everything he had to give. She continued sucking until he softened and relaxed his hold on her hair, but his dick was still harder than she figured it’d be.