This Is Love, Baby (War & Peace #2)(28)
Rage surges through me, painting my insides red with hate. I ball my hands into fists. One more stupid word out of his mouth and I’ll break my promise to Baylee about not hurting him. “She loves me.”
My entire body quakes with barely contained fury. He keeps pushing and f*cking pushing. I don’t know how much longer I can take his shit before I snap.
“No, she likes you. You were a teenage crush. Nothing more than a *-ass boy. You’re friend-zoned now. She just doesn’t know how to break it to you and your fragile little wussy feel—”
Hate overwhelms me and my restraint is no longer something I have control over. Before I can think better of it, I backhand him across the side of the head, hard enough to reopen a cut on his eyebrow which immediately starts bleeding. He spits out a wad of blood and glares at me.
“Mark my words, boy.”
With a huff, I storm out of the kitchen ignoring his psychotic laughter that echoes behind me. It takes everything in me not to beat him to a bloody pulp.
Stalking back into the bedroom, I dig around the duffle bag until I find one of Baylee’s favorite nightgowns. It’s my favorite too—an old, oversized pink thing with Tweety Bird on the front. She loves it because it was handed down to her from her mother. I love it because it’s short and shows off her pretty long legs. Also, I locate her a sexy black thong and toss it onto the bed as well.
The shower shuts off and I pace around the room waiting for her. Between her distant behavior toward me and Gabe’s taunting and threats, my nerves are shot. I need to fix this.
“I laid out your clothes,” I tell her with a proud grin.
She’s wrapped up in a white towel that stretches over her gorgeous tits and hangs just low enough to cover her *. I crave to finally lose my virginity to her. Soon. Her eyes fall to the bed and tears well in her eyes.
“I love that nightgown,” she murmurs, emotion making her voice hoarse. “It used to be Mom’s.” Her long legs glide over to the bed and she fingers the thin, worn fabric as the memories assault her. When her shoulders quiver with silent tears, I stride over to her and hug her from behind.
“That’s why I brought it, babe. I want you to be happy. To remember Lynn. I grabbed a few pictures for you too.”
Her sobs are quiet, but I’m overcome with joy when she lets me hold her. My arms are locked around her stomach and I keep her back pressed to my front. As she cries, I press kisses to her bare shoulder. I want to tear the towel from her body and make love to her. To pump into her and kiss away her sorrow.
Soon.
After some time, she sniffles away the last of her tears. “A thong. Really Brandon?”
I chuckle and tickle her sides, making her squirm away from me. I shrug. “I just grabbed the stuff I like seeing you in. Was I supposed to grab the granny panties that were shoved to the back of your drawer?” I question and smirk at her.
She rolls her eyes and throws the black scrap at me. “I’m not wearing those.”
I feel myself grow hard as I shove her panties into my pocket. “You won’t see me complaining,” I tease and drag my eyes down her body, eying her suggestively.
“Go away and let me get dressed,” she huffs but the playful tone is still in her voice.
“I’ll just be brushing my teeth.”
Once inside the bathroom, I quickly brush my teeth in hopes that we can at least kiss while we cuddle before bed. I drop my jeans and leave on my black boxers. When I finally emerge from the bathroom, she’s bent over the bed tugging the sheets into place and baring the backs of her smooth thighs to me.
The idea of sleeping in this bed still f*cks with my head, but having her curled up next to me will outweigh the fact that Gabe f*cked her on it. “Tomorrow, we’re leaving. With or without his compliance. I’m ready to take care of you and staying here is a constant reminder of what that * did to you. A reminder of what he did to us.”
She whirls around and glares at me. Her bare tits are visible through the thin pink gown and her hardened small nipples poke through. What I wouldn’t give to put my teeth on one of them and—
“Us?” she snaps. “He did nothing to you here in this cabin, Brandon. But me? He did everything to me. Don’t say shit like that.”
I growl and storm over to her. She flinches again and it pisses me right the f*ck off. “Stop acting like you’re afraid of me, goddammit!” I say with a low rumble in my voice. “I’m not going to hurt you. You’re my everything. And just because you’re upset doesn’t mean I should be the recipient of every outburst you have. He’s the one who raped you, not me. Gabe f*cked what was mine, not me. So he did do something to me in this cabin. He robbed me of what was supposed to be mine. Ours. Next time you want to have a bitch fit, remember that I was the one to rescue you from that, because it seems like you are easily forgetting. I’m the one who f*cking loves you. I’m the only one who wants to keep you safe. So cut the shit, Baylee.”
Tears well in her eyes and her body quakes with sobs. She throws her arms around my waist and buries her face against my chest, heating the flesh where her name is surrounded in tattooed flames. It seems fitting and right.
“I’m sorry, Brandon. I’m just so upset. Everything hurts. Losing my mom and War,” she sobs. I try not to flinch at the mention of that *. “And not knowing where Dad is. Being around Gabe, knowing he’s the blame for all of this. But being around you is the hardest. You want things from me that I simply can’t give to you right now.”