Naughty or Nice(16)

I lean back to look at him. “I know it sounds crazy and fast. I—”

“You don’t have to make excuses to me. If anyone gets it, it’s me. Loved you that first night you gave me that smart mouth of yours.”

“I love you,” I say it again.

“Love you, too,” he says before his mouth is on mine, kissing me. I get lost in him, and I know everything is going to be okay. Brian will always make sure of that. I feel safe. All the walls I’d been holding up come tumbling down around us.

“That’s so sweet. My ma always said there wasn’t love like that,” the girl says, reminding me where we are and that we’re not alone. I pull back, licking my lips. My face turns red.

“Thanks, Lars. I owe you one.” I look over to the giant Brian is talking to. “What do we do about this?” Brian puts me on my feet but doesn’t let me go.

“At least we didn’t kill them,” is all Lars says. I think he’s joking at first, but his face doesn’t show any levity. “They aren’t calling the police.” He lifts a lock of the girl’s hair and starts playing with it before bringing it to his nose and smelling it. She doesn’t even notice.

“Going to buy this place and bulldoze it.” Brian looks around the room and I know he’s deadly serious.

“Guess you could do that.” The man shrugs again. “I was just going to burn it down.” The man’s eyes meet mine. “Cheaper.”

Brian laughs.

“I’ll get this taken care of. Get out of here.” He nods to the door.

“I’ll call you tomorrow.” Brian pulls me toward the door. “Answer the fucking phone,” he adds as we step over my brother. I don’t look down at him. He’s not my brother anymore. He’s no one.

As I slip into Brian’s car, I lay my head back and close my eyes. Brian’s hand slips into mine as I feel the car start to move.

“You found me,” I say, opening my eyes.

“When I got to the shelter you were gone. Lars told me where he thought your brother or Slate might take you. Guess I drive faster than your brother.” I roll my head to the side and look over at him.

“They wanted me to get close to you. I thought maybe you told them you wanted me, but after a few hours I knew that wasn’t you.” I give him the truth. All of it. “It’s why I agreed to come with you last night.”

“I would have gotten you either way. They only made it happen a little bit faster.” He winks at me. His teasing nature is back. I believe him. He wouldn’t have stopped until he got me. It’s clear he’ll do anything to have me. It might be crazy, but I can’t help but love that he would.

“You’re not mad at me?” I bite my lip. He glances back at me again as he comes to a stop at the light.

“You have been naughty. Little brats do get punished.”

I suck in a breath as my mind plays images of all the dirty things that happen to bad girls. “You bent over my lap, ass in the air, will make me feel anything but mad, I can promise you that.” I wiggle in my seat at the visual.

“Though I’m not sure that’s punishment with how excited you look.”

“There’s only one way to find out,” I breathe.

The light turns green.

“Guess you’re right,” he growls as he pushes down hard on the gas. I already know I’m going to like my punishment more than I should. It’s a good thing the man that loves me likes me both naughty and nice.





Epilogue





Brian





A few weeks later…





It’s our first Christmas together and I want everything to be perfect. Sage and Jensen left early to go to my parents’ house and get everything ready. They’ve all fallen in love with Claudia and treat her like she’s part of the family.

My mom asked her about having babies the first time they met, and though I should have played it cool I blurted out that there was probably one on the way. I’m glad that Claudia forgives my excitement, but I love her so much and I can’t wait to be a dad. I’m close with mine and we have such a great relationship. I can’t wait to have that with my kids. I told Claudia I want a house full and she didn’t run for the hills screaming. I take that as a good sign because I plan on keeping her pregnant for a long time to come.

“Brian?” she calls out from our bedroom.

I had to get up early or otherwise I would have kept her in bed all day. Instead I got up, filled with nervous energy, and cleaned the already immaculate apartment and made coffee. Then I took a shower and got dressed before I woke her up.

“In here,” I call out and watch her walk into the room.

She’s wearing a soft blue sweater dress that hugs her lush curves. It’s fuzzy and has a knitted neck that hangs off one shoulder. Her dark boots click on the wood floor as she walks towards me.

“There you are. Why did you rush out of bed so quick this morning?”

When she comes close she puts her hands on my chest and leans up to kiss me. I bend down and give her a quick kiss before I pull away from her.

“You stay on that side of the counter.” I point as I walk around. “If I get too close we’ll be late and you look fucking delicious right now.”