PRIDE: A Bad Boy and Amish Girl Romance (The Brody Bunch#1) (50 page)

T
he sun seemed
to shine all the brighter the next morning when Harrison awoke with Clarice’s beautiful naked body tucked in his arms. They had retreated back to their temporary penthouse suite for the evening once their passions became too inflamed to fulfill out on the public beach. The resort was fairly uninhibited, but the beach was no place for the things they wanted to do to each other.

He held her close against him and planted sweet kisses along her head and face as she cooed her way out of sleep. She smelled like heaven.

“Baby,” he said against her ear. “We must get up, darling. Your friends will be waiting.”

“Mmmm,” groaned Clarice, nuzzling tighter against his chest. “Can’t they just come in here and say goodbye?”

“Certainly, as long as you’re fine with them seeing me naked.”

“They could stand to be a little jealous of me for once,” she giggled.

They fooled around in bed a little before Harrison finally insisted they get moving, knowing it wasn’t just Clarice’s friends, but also his parents, who were waiting to visit before they departed the island. They took a quick shower, got dressed, and headed down to the main lobby floor.

Harrison groaned when they came around the corner and saw that his parents were, again, already waiting for them. But so were Clarice’s lovely friends, and to see the delight in her eyes as she ran toward them made him endlessly happy.

Last night, after retreating to their room for hot make-up sex, both she and Harrison took a break to have meetings with their loved ones and tell them about the plan they had come up with. Harrison had to go through the difficulty of breaking his mother’s heart regarding her future grandchild — for which she rightly gave him a slap across the face — but she seemed soothed by his revelation that he had fallen in love with Clarice in earnest, and that her grandchild was at the most, delayed. He promised both of them to make their relationship better, as well, including semi-annual visits.

Clarice took her girls to dinner and then private shopping at the boutiques on Harrison’s tab, a gift he insisted would soften the blow when she told them she wouldn’t be returning to New York with them. She had saved up vacation time at work and intended to take it all right now, so that she and Harrison could begin laying the groundwork for her permanent move to Bali. She wouldn’t have to work at all, if she didn’t want to, though she was sure she would find something amazing to do eventually. She wanted to build a new life with Harrison, a new adventure here in Bali, helping him run his empire, and starting a family.

They returned to each other emotionally exhausted, but happier than either of them had been, and spent the wee hours of the morning making love. But morning came, and though it was heavy, their goodbyes now were only the first step on this new road.

Harrison stood with his arm around his mother as Clarice said her goodbyes to her friends. Each of them gave her a bright, warm hug — especially Trudy, who wrapped her so tight she looked like she was trying to absorb her best friend right into her skin. All of them were teary-eyed except the one called Liz, but even she had a look of sweet emotion on her face.

“I’ll call you as soon as I get back,” said Trudy, when she finally released her grip. “You’re sure about all this?”

“I’m sure,” said Clarice with a smile. “Never been more sure. I’m just going to take all the vacation I have left at the publishing house before I cruise home to get the move started. I’m, uh… I’m not quite ready to leave yet.” She turned and gave a wink to Harrison.

“I did not expect adventure Clarice to come roaring out so boldly again,” laughed Trudy. “I should have known better. She was hibernating too long, prepping for something big.”

“She was,” agreed Clarice. “And I’m glad she’s back, too.”

“How the shit are we going to live in the city without you?” said Sophie, with a few sniffles. She patted her nose with a cloth handkerchief she pulled out of her patent leather bag. “It won’t be the same at all.”

“I know, but that’s not a bad thing,” said Clarice. “Things change all the time. And besides, now you guys not only have the perfect excuse to come back to Bali, but you won’t even have to pay for it!”

Behind her, Harrison cleared his throat in an obvious manner, and quirked his eyebrow at her sternly. “Oh, is that right?”

Sheepishly but with her own seductive charm, Clarice gave him a pouty look. “Well, that is if my darling partner approves such frivolous expenses, right sweetheart?”

“What in the hell have I gotten myself into,” muttered Harrison playfully to his mother.

“It’s about time someone was able to keep you in line,” she replied.

“As if I needed another reason to support you finally getting some regular, high-class tail,” said Liz when Clarice pulled her into a hug. “And I will be taking you up on that trip offer probably every single summer until I die at my desk, okay?”

“C’mon, Liz, we all know the kids will kill you before they’ll let you die of natural causes.”

Liz gave her a happy, lopsided grin and tweaked her nose between her fingers. “I’m really going to miss you, dummy.”

“I won’t give you enough time to miss me. You’re all calling me when you get home and we’re getting drunk over webcam,” said Clarice, pointing a sweeping finger at all of them. “I mean it, alright?” Her voice was firm and light, but she was wiping tears from her eyes anyway.

Harrison put his arms around her gently to comfort her. He smiled at the ladies. “I can’t thank you all enough for bringing Clarice here. If it wasn’t for you, we never would have met.”

“Yeah, you’re damn welcome,” said Trudy. “You make sure you take care of her and we won’t have a problem, got it?”

“On my honor,” said Harrison with his hand over his heart. “And on the name of my father. Also, Clarice is right. You are all welcome back whenever you want, no charge. It’s the least I can do to repay you for introducing her into my life.”

The ladies all beamed and squealed until the bellhop came running up to inform them their car to the airport had arrived. Clarice gave them all one last hug before she watched them wander out the lobby doors, waving as they did.

“I hope they don’t mind, but I replaced their shuttle van with a limousine. Oh, and I changed their flights, they’ll be taking a private jet all the way back to New York,” whispered Harrison to Clarice quietly.

“What were you thinking? They will be
furious
,” she giggled. Harrison kissed the top of her head and pulled her into his side playfully.

George Moore cleared his throat, and Harrison turned to watch his parents exchange a glance with each other before his father began speaking. “Well, I must say this is the most unusual engagement holiday I’ve ever heard of. Certainly the most unusual in our circle of friends.”

Clarice turned a bit red and stuck close to Harrison’s side. Despite his promises that his parents didn’t hold anything against her for the ruse, she was still insecure about her part in it. “Hopefully it won’t turn into some resentment toward your fabulous new daughter-in-law? For real this time?”

“Wait, when did I properly propose to you?” asked Harrison.

Clarice blushed. “Oh, well, you didn’t, I just assumed.”

“You just assumed I would want to marry you.”

“Well, yeah… I mean, look at me,” said Clarice, waving a hand up and down her form.

Harrison beamed and laughed, pulling her close for a hug and a kiss.

His father watched them, shaking his head, but there was a sparkling smile on his face. “I wonder if you two weren’t playing a ruse on yourselves this whole time, rather than us.”

“That’s very philosophical, father,” said Harrison. “But you know how I feel about learning life lessons and such.” He stuck his tongue out and made a thumbs down.

“Harrison, what has gotten into you?” his mother gasped, with a gentle slap on his arm. But she was smiling, too.

“That old black magic,” said her son, winking at Clarice. “It’s what you two always wanted anyway, wasn’t it? Surprise! My confession was actually the ruse; we
weren’t
pretending this whole time.”

“We just didn’t realize it right away,” said Clarice.

“That is typically how it happens, I find,” said his father with a loving look towards his mother. “But I’m afraid we must head back to England. I’ve been too long away from the board rooms. Everything is liable to collapse at any moment.”

“Of course, the fate of the free market depends on it.”

Harrison shook hands with his father, and then pulled him into a tight hug. His father was surprised at first, but he returned it firmly, patting his son on the back. His mother’s embrace was far more loving, and she kissed him thrice on the cheek before she was satisfied enough to leave.

“We’ll invite you back when the wedding or the baby is on, whichever comes first,” said Harrison as they headed for the door.

“Which will
definitely be the wedding
,” added Clarice.

“Take care of my baby, Clarice!” said Vanessa.

“I promise I will,” she replied.

They shared one last wave goodbye before the Moores disappeared into their own limousine and headed for the airport.

Harrison turned to Clarice and wrapped his arms around her. He dropped a kiss on her head. “Well, my queen, what would you like to do on this first day of your rule?”

Clarice twisted her mouth in thought. “I’d like to dare you to streak through the water gardens.”

Harrison fought a smile, and instead heaved a big, dramatic sigh. He pulled away from her and started to unbutton his shirt. “As my queen commands…”

“
C
areful
, love, or you’ll get wetter than you already are.”

I arched my back away from the faucet of the sink I was perched on, pressing into Ash’s hard body, most of which was still disappointingly clothed. His shirt was hanging off him in all the right places, clinging to him in others, alluding to the rippling muscles I knew just
knew
—were under there. In my mind’s eye I could picture them, tensed for my touch, just waiting for me to unwrap their splendor, to graze my nails over every bulge and coil, to trace the furrows of his hips down to the thickening root of his full, throbbing cock.

This I would have to relegate to my imagination, however, as the venue of my very first tryst with Ash Brody would not allow for either of us to completely undress. But that was the price you paid for spontaneity. Sometimes you ended up in a bathroom at the back of the bar you both worked at, raring to go but lacking the time and the privacy to do it right.

Although, if I was being honest, fast, hard, and hot was exactly the way I liked it.

I didn’t hear Ash complaining, either.

I tipped my head back, my skull meeting the mirror behind me with an impact that bordered on violent. I saw stars, and then saw them again as Ash ran his tongue up my neck, laying a series of scorching, sloppy kisses along my jugular. My pulse pounded into his lips as he pulled down the low neckline of my top, exposing the cups of my bra. It was simple and black, but if I’d known we’d end up like this tonight, I would’ve worn something nicer.

The look in his dark eyes told me none of that mattered. He didn’t care what my lingerie looked like. He cared about what was
inside
it. And he was grasping for it already, his coarse hands ripping the cups down, freeing my breasts to the chill of the restroom.

I drew in a sharp breath and Ash’s teeth glinted. “Don’t worry. I’ll warm them back up.” Then he lowered his head and took one of my hard nipples between his lips, the flat of his tongue tantalizing them along with a warm puff of his breath.

I seized his hair with both my hands, writhing on top of the sink, my thighs already clenched hard around his narrow waist. I dug my knees into him like he was a prized stallion, urging him on, spurring him to use his teeth on my sensitive flesh. I was probably leaving bruises. I sure as hell hoped I was, anyway. He’d already left plenty of marks on me, so it was only fair.

A groan ripped from my throat as Ash pulled my jeans down to my knees, yanking them hard, recklessly. The fabric scraped my skin but was soothed a moment later by his fingers raking the insides of my thighs, thumbs pressing in to ensure I kept them parted for him. With that same careless touch, he sought to bring my panties down as well, but they fell to the strength of his grasp, ripping clean off me.

I gasped, burying my teeth into my lower lip as I looked up at him, eyes wide. No one had ever handled me so expertly before, so effortlessly. His savagery sent a shudder up my spine, a thrill that made me spread my legs as wide as I could within the confines of my bunched-up jeans. I was used to guys ripping off my clothes in the heat of the moment, but never so… literally. That aggression did something to me, drove me crazy, made the ache between my legs crescendo. When Ash grinned at me, twisting my panties between his fingers, it was all I could do not to be completely consumed by that desire.

“You’re gonna have to keep it down,” he chuckled, one hand slipping between us to unbuckle his belt. “Unless you wanna get caught…”

“Make me,” I moaned in reply, using my feet to push down on the waistband of his jeans. I knew now that I’d dared him, he
would
make me. And I knew exactly how he’d do it, too.

Ash’s look of satisfaction at my response was breathtaking. “Open your mouth.”

I did as I was told, but not nearly far enough for what he had planned. Smirking, he grasped my jaw with his free hand and tipped my head back, coaxing me to open wider, to accept the bundle of my own panties he was stuffing between my teeth.

I whined slightly, but the cloth muffled the sound. On my tongue, I tasted my sweet desire for him, the spice of my lust. That was what this was all about anyway, right? This thing between us— t was lust.

Well, what else would it be? It certainly wasn’t love.

“Hold on tight,” Ash warned me as our efforts finally bore fruit. His jeans and boxers were down enough to let his cock spring free, and though I desperately wanted to grab hold of it—to feel its weight, its warmth, the yearning of its pulse—he was already grabbing me and sliding me to the very edge of the sink. We lined up perfectly; his bare tip slid in a soft arc up my cleft, coming to rest right over my clit. As I shuddered, reveling in the thrill of us being skin-to-skin, Ash dug into his pocket and pulled out a condom, the foil coming apart easily in his teeth. I watched with anticipation, and a little primal disappointment, as he rolled it down his length and sheathed himself from me.

It was smart. It was the right move. But damn, did his velvety cock feel
so right
against my netherlips, against the heat of my core.

I dug my nails into Ash’s shoulders and raised up, offering my hips for his taking. He wasted no time in obliging me; when he impaled me on that thick, diamond-hard dick, I felt like he’d pushed all the way through me. Now I knew for sure I was leaving marks all across him, red slashes that would haunt him beneath his shirt. He growled a low warning in my ear, as if to tell me that was just the beginning—that there was so much more to come, and that I needed to prepare myself for it.

But I knew there was nothing I could do. Ash was going to take me in a way that would leave me a quivering, breathless, bruised mess… and I wanted it. I wanted it more than I’d wanted anything from any man in my entire life.

His hands found the bones of my hips, pulling me onto him as he thrust into me, and once again in an involuntary spasm I let my head hit the mirror, my knuckles whitening around the edges of the sink. I closed my eyes, biting down hard on my panties and surrendering to the violence, to the wicked passion a man like Ash Brody was so easily consumed by. I’d known men like him. Plenty of them. And yet, in some ways, I’d never known a man like him at all.

There was honesty in this. Nothing about us was riding on pretense. We were
fucking.
Not having sex. Not making love. Ash was
taking
me,
using
me. And I was letting him. I was submitting to the carnal desire I knew we carried in us both. I was helpless to it, and so was he. We were monsters, rutting in dim light, baring our teeth and claws to one another because we knew no one else would be able to handle it. No one else could possibly understand.

From the moment I’d set eyes on Ash Brody, I knew we carried the same burden. I knew we bore the same scars. I knew we’d both seen some real shit. Darkness pervaded us both; our souls both buckled beneath the weight of our pain and our sins. We each had a past shrouded in misery; we were both running from memories that hungered for our blood. When he’d snagged my gaze from the shadows, I’d known without explanation that we were similar beasts. This —our frantic, vicious fucking in the bathroom—that was just the proof of it.

We were no better than animals. So why try to be human? Besides… wasn’t it easier to think of ourselves this way?

But then Ash just had to go and surprise me. The strokes he made inside me slowed and he lifted one hand to the back of my head, shielding me from the glass behind it. His touch was tender, protective. It startled me enough to open my eyes, even before he murmured in those irresistible, husky tones, “Look at me, Hannah. Look at me…”

I did as I was told, even though I was sure he could see the confusion that twisted my face. He’d noticed my head against the mirror? The warmth of his gaze told me he had; I could see it glowing there, a soft ember behind the flames of his desire. My heart hammered as he kissed my forehead, flooding me with uncertain, but not unwelcome, affection. This was… unexpected. This was not what I was used to.

Like I said… there was nothing I could’ve done to prepare myself for Ash. Not on that day, and not on any other.

Fucker.

I held his gaze as he pumped into me, feeling at first vulnerable, but gradually losing myself in his stare. I didn’t notice he’d taken his hand off my hip until he moved it between my legs, using his thumb to tease my wet and swollen clit above the sawing of his cock. He was still
fucking
me—there was no question about that, nor was there any about how much I fucking loved it—but there was something else between us, too. Something that made it just a little different. Enough so that when I came—when my muscles clamped down in ecstatic bursts around his shaft, milking him for all he was worth—I wailed his name and
meant it.

Ash snarled. He pressed on my clit, drawing me up to new heights, and with his free hand he tore my panties from my mouth and kissed me, hard, on my lips. I kissed him back, his face clutched between my palms, my thumbs dug into his cheekbones. And I meant that too—the kiss.
Our
kiss. And I knew that meaning was shared.

“Fuck,” I hissed as he emptied into me, his forehead against my shoulder, the condom the only thing that kept him from filling me to the brim. He blew a hot breath against the curve of my neck and I leaned back, careful of the mirror, as I muttered, “You’re gonna be trouble, Ash. I can tell.”

“I’m going to keep you
out
of trouble, is what I’m going to do,” he replied, his voice thick, rich, and dark with the remnants of his orgasm. I smiled and shook my head. I loved that tone on a man.

“And you’ll get your brothers to agree?” I asked him, holding him for as long as I could inside me. “I have a feeling this isn’t going to be an easy task. It’s gonna have to be more than just you.”

Ash, with a reluctant grunt, pulled himself free and worked on getting the rubber off his cock, tossing it into the nearest trash can. He pulled his pants and boxers up and helped me off the sink so I could get my jeans around my waist, as well. Pity about my panties—I was not a fan of going commando, and I still had hours left on my shift.

“I will,” he said at last, peering over my shoulder to fix his hair in the mirror and adjust his clothes. “Don’t worry about it, love. I’ll figure something out.”

“Hope so,” I said, folding my arms, “because I just paid in advance, and these are my sisters. No half-assing it, all right?”

Ash arched a brow. It was adorable. “And what a payment that was… Anyway, when have you ever seen me half-ass anything?”

I rolled my eyes. “Offhand? Well, there was the night that one chick kept buying you drinks, and halfway through your shift you two disappeared and left me to handle the drunk and disorderlies by myself.”

“Right,” he said thoughtfully, “Tanya.”

It was my turn to look incredulous. “Do they all have names, or is that one special?”

“They all have names,” Ash replied, though a roguish grin soon wiped away any trace of indignance he might have felt at the accusation. “Why? Are you jealous?”

I snorted and waved him off, but some small chord in me had been plucked, and I knew it. Still, no sense showing him that. “What I am is late getting back from my break—which you promised I wouldn’t be—and
you’re
late meeting your brothers.” Ash made a move for the door but I stopped him, fingers splayed across his broad, well-muscled chest. The chest I had yet to see in its full glory, thanks to our choice in location. “No. I go out first. Wait five minutes. Then you can leave too.”

“And if my brothers leave because your dignity is holding me hostage?” he asked.

“I assume they have phones,” I replied, unlocking the deadbolt across the inside of the door. “And make sure you get rid of those panties, will you? Seriously, find somewhere to put them that’s… not here. I don’t want anyone finding them and… I don’t know, tacking them to the break room bulletin board.”

“Don’t worry,” Ash purred, stuffing them into the pocket of his leather jacket. “No one will find them.”

I took that to mean he was going to hang onto them. Fine. Let him. Spoils of war. After all, he’d won.

Or at least, that was what I was willing to let him think—that he’d finally found a way to get into my pants. That he had seduced me. That he alone had been responsible for my eventual—and in his opinion, probably inevitable—submission to his desires. The easiest way to play a man was through his ego, and Ash was no exception to that rule. As a player himself, you might think he would’ve picked up on the con, but no. What man wants to admit he’s a means to an end?

Well… maybe that wasn’t true. Not entirely. The whole truth was that Ash and I had been dancing around each other for months, flirting with growing intensity. Maybe we weren’t dating, but we’d spent time with each other outside of work. He was a bouncer, which meant his schedule was flexible as he wasn’t married to any specific location. He got around—and in more than just the professional sense.

I’d intended to make him work a little harder for his prize, but that was before I’d gotten word my sisters were coming into town. My
Amish
sisters. On Rumspringa. And I’d known without a shadow of a doubt they’d need to be looked out for, and not just because they were innocent down to the bone, but because seeing me again, for the first time since I’d left our Amish roots… it was forbidden. And our father wouldn’t take that sitting down.

They had no idea the kind of damage he could inflict, the lengths he would go to in order to ensure obedience. I did. I knew only too well. But they weren’t ready for the truth yet. They weren’t ready to know why they had to stay in Bright Falls and never look back. I was going to have to convince them of the merits of a modern world—an “English” world, as the Amish called it—while at the same time protecting them from the retribution I was sure would come.

That’s where Ash and his brothers came in. That’s where the transactional nature of our relationship comes into play. He wanted to fuck me, and I wanted security for myself and my sisters. And, if I was being honest… I wanted to fuck him, too.