“My family just ain’t shit, darlin’. My father beat the fuck out of me and in the trailer next door his sister allowed her boyfriends to do whatever they wanted to my cousin, Jemma.”
“Oh my God,” I breathe.
He nods tightly and continues. “When your daddy took me with him, I didn’t look back. Jemma was a bitch to me. I hadn’t known what was going on with her to know she had a reason for it.
“I found out when she showed up on my doorstep one summer after having the shit beat out of her. I handled shit for her and gave her a place to stay until she turned eighteen and took off on her own.” His eyes are distant as he speaks and massages his hands over my cheeks under the water.
“I sort of felt like it was my fault. I believed that shit for a long time. Jemma has used that against me again and again. The fact that I was right next door and did nothing, knew nothing. I was a kid too. Took me a long time to accept that as truth. There was nothing I could have done differently.
“We’re only a year apart, but the things Jemma has been through have damaged her deep and added years. When she returned to my doorstep with a friend and a sob story, I fell for it.”
“Mags?” I ask and furrow my brows.
He nods and his lips thin. “Jemma and Magdalena came to me with a tale that sucked me in. I was full of guilt, young, and dumb. Mags was a gorgeous girl in need, and they suckered me right into being her knight in shining armor.
“I had no idea Mags was already in a relationship with my crazy as fuck cousin. I didn’t know until after I’d been married to Mags for over a year. I came home to find my cousin, Jemma, fucking my wife.”
Brick frowns and shakes his head. “That shit fucked my head up. Jemma was eating the same pussy I’d been fucking for more than a year. I knew I wasn’t in love with Mags, but that shit still crushed my ego.
“I wasn’t even turned on by the shit because Jemma is my fucking cousin. The two came clean and told me they were always lovers. They just needed me to keep Magdalena out of Brazil for good.
“Sad part is, Jemma doesn’t realize Mags uses everyone until they’re of no use to her anymore. It’s only a matter of time before Jemma finds out who Magdalena really is. She’s manipulative…” He stops talking, realizing his voice has started to rise and his chest is heaving.
I dip my head and kiss his pec, then lift to kiss his lips gently. He glides his hands up my back, crushing my breasts to his chest. His mouth hovers within inches of mine, he flicks his tongue out to sample my bottom lip, disintegrating the tender kiss I just pressed to his.
He places his forehead to mine and starts talking again. “I did everything they asked of me back then, but Mags decided she wanted more. She fought me tooth and nail on the divorce even after I used my connections to give her a new identity and new life.
“Mags is a liar, a cheater, and a virus of the worse kind. Trouble follows her and Jemma is always there to get her out. I was never married for love. I was married to help her get a green card and to have a safe place to stay.
“I didn’t value love and a relationship like I do now. You feel me?” He finishes as he looks right through my soul.
“I feel you,” I whisper right before he seals his lips to mine.
We remain in a heated kiss before he breaks it and looks me in the eyes again. His expression is impassive. I can’t get a read on him.
“One more thing, darlin’,” he says firmly. “Just like when we’re fucking, when it’s just you and me, I’m Owen to you. Brick is who I am to my brothers, not my woman.”
“Okay, Owen.” I smirk.
“Now turn around, I want to know everything I don’t know about you and you can ask me anything you like,” he commands.
I turn and settle between his legs. “Well, where do you want me to start?” I look over my shoulder to say.
I reach for his legs and run my hands over his powerful thighs that are beside me. “I’ll be needing to feed you soon, so how about you start with what you like to eat? You still make those pancakes?”
I freeze in his arms and blink up at him. I know I must be looking at him with a stunned expression on my face. I search his eyes, not comprehending how he remembers such a thing.
“You remember that?” I say in awe.
I can’t believe he does. One summer, when Brick was home from college, he and King had stayed out late partying. The next morning—because I knew it was the only way I could hang out with them—I made them breakfast.
He snorts. “Best damn pancakes I’ve ever had in my life. How could I forget?”
I made pancakes, eggs, and bacon. I recall they both devoured every last crumb. I was so proud of myself that day. I never in a million years would have thought he would remember that.
“I was like fourteen.” I wrinkle my nose at him.
“Yeah, so, do you still make ‘em, cause it’s been that long since I had good pancakes,” he says with a sparkle in his eyes.
I nod and give him a small smile back. “Yeah, I do. We may need to go to the store.”
“No problem.” He nods and starts to massage my shoulders. “Now, tell me what your plans are after graduation.”
Chapter
