Brett and Hannah (Soul Mates 101 Series) (5 page)

Brett swung around to look for Hannah on the dance floor.

Dammit. Why can’
t she stay away from assholes?

She
was stuck between two guys who were pressing themselves up against her, basically making a sandwich out of her. He could see on her face that she wanted out from between them, and they weren’t budging.

Brett slammed his beer bottle down on the table.

“I can’t keep saving her ass.”

“Man, I think you need to ask yourself why y
ou keep wanting to.”

Those words hit him hard. He
knew Austin was right. He scanned around for Hannah’s friends and saw they weren’t paying attention to her as they danced.

The more he watched her with the two guys
, the more he felt his anger building. He wasn’t about to let it continue. His fists were clenched, and he felt the tightening of his jaw. He wasn’t thinking anymore as rage took over.

“Man, get control. I’ve nev
er seen you this way over a woman. Dylan and Cody will kick your ass if we get into a fight and get banned from this place,” Austin said.

Brett took off and headed
straight for the two men. He grabbed Hannah’s arm and pulled her out from between them, putting her almost completely behind him. He got within inches of their faces and started yelling as he pointed his finger at them.

“Don’t either of you even think about putting a hand on her again, or you’re
going to have my fist in your face! Do you understand?”

The men were bigger than the six he’d rescued her from the time before. H
e knew they were his age or older, but due to Brett’s size and the intimidating vibe he exhibited, they looked scared.

He
’d only ever lost one fight. In high school, he attempted to protect his boss, Lauren, from her boyfriend who he thought was treating her badly. He ended up taking two solid punches to the face for her and swore it would be the last time he lost a fight.

The two men
put their hands up near their chest before one of them spoke. “Hey, we didn’t know she had a boyfriend.” They turned and walked away.

He’
d never been referred to as a boyfriend and was stunned by the word. There was a crowd of onlookers including his friends, and he saw Dylan shaking his head, looking bewildered. Brett turned around to Hannah. She was staring at him, her large eyes magnified by the colored lighting in the bar.

He anxiously grabbed her shoulders.
“Did I hurt you?”

“No, but I don’t need yo
ur help. We’re not doing this, remember? Those were your words,” she said snippy.

Brett could hardly take the adrena
line and sexual tension rushing through him.

“
Give me your damn phone, Hannah.”

“
Stop ordering me around. Why do I—”

“Give me the phone, now,” he said sharply.

She pulled it out of her clutch purse. He grabbed her hand and led her to her friends.

“Do you all th
ink you’re capable of keeping her out of trouble for five seconds? I’ll be right back, and don’t let her out of your sight.”

Hannah rolled her eyes at him.

“What is his deal with you? I don’t know if we shoul
d be grateful or find it creepy,” Chelsea said after Brett walked away.

“I
don’t know. All I do know is I have it bad for him.”

“It appears he feels the same about you,” Jasmine said.

“I hope so.” Hannah chewed on her thumbnail.

Brett went outside
and started swiping through the contacts in her phone. He wanted her home but didn’t want the responsibility of getting her there.

He kn
ew he could end up with a death sentence if something happened to her on his time. She wasn’t any ordinary girl. He finally found the name “Hudson” in her phone and hit the dial button.

Hudson
answered.

“Hanna
h, it’s late. Are you OK?”

“Um, sir, this is Brett.
I’m the landscaper that’s working for the Masons.”

“Why do you have Hannah’s phone? Is she OK?”

“She’s intoxicated. My friends and I came out to The Stables, and she’s been here for hours drinking. Her friends are just as bad, so I thought I’d call to see if you could pick them up and get them home safely.”

“Absolutely,
thanks for calling me. It’ll take me about forty minutes to get there. I was already in bed.”

“I’
ll have them out front when you get here.”

Brett went back inside and found the girls standing off to the side of the dance floor.
“I called Hudson, and he’ll be here in forty minutes. If you don’t want him to take you home that’s your choice, but I’m making sure Hannah gets in that car.”

Hannah threw her hands on her hips. “You’re not making me do anything.”

Brett closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. He was losing his patience. He looked at her friends. “If you’re going to ride with him, then be outside in about thirty minutes. I’m taking Hannah to sit down.”

Brett took Hannah’s hand and went to find Matt. He saw him making out with the brunette in a booth.

“Matt, can we leave in about forty minutes?”

“Sure.
” Matt glanced down at Hannah’s hand entwined with Brett’s. “Is she going home with you?” he asked, smiling. Brett saw the amusement all over his face.

“No
,” he said, glaring at him. “Just meet me outside later.”

“Can do,” Matt said before turning around and plunging his tongue back into the brunette
’s mouth.

Brett had Hanna
h sit next to him at a table. Without even a thought he held her hand in his lap. “Hannah, if you don’t want guys treating you like shit, you probably shouldn’t drink so much.”

Hannah’s expression softened
. “I know, and I’m sorry.” She pulled her hand away from his and reached behind his ear, twisting her fingers in his soft hair.

Brett flinched
but didn’t move her hand.

“M
y boss doesn’t have millions of dollars, Hannah. This account is very important for his livelihood, and I’m the only employee trained to do this job the way we were asked to do it. I can’t risk him losing this contract or me losing my job.”

Hannah moved her fingers to his ear and stroked his earlobe between her fingertips.

“Do you like me?”

Brett closed his eyes for a second, trying to get his ragged breathing under control. “Yes, I like you. I think I made that obvious, but nothing’s going to come from it. Once Hudson picks you up, we need to stop speaking other than a ‘hello’. I’m explaining so you understand why.” Brett saw her anger return.

“My parents
are not going to fire the company just because you talk to me. I’m an adult. They don’t tell me what to do, and you’re making way too big a deal out of this.”

“
It’s a risk I can’t afford to take. If it wasn’t for my job, I’d talk to you.”

“That’s the excuse you
’re feeding yourself. I’m outta here.” Hannah got up and took off toward the doors.

He watched
her sway from the alcohol when she stood up. “Hannah, stop.” He got up and went after her, following her out the exit.

It was dark besi
des a couple of streets lights, and he only noticed a few people hanging out in the parking lot. Brett grabbed hold of her arm, but she immediately jerked away.

“If that’
s what you want, then why are you following me out here?”

“Since I
called Hudson, I’m not taking a chance on something happening to you between now and when he gets here, so I’m not going anywhere. I’m honestly wondering with your behavior how you’ve managed to get through a whole year of college without getting hurt.”

Hannah clenched her fists.

“Stop treating me like a child!”

“Then stop acting like one.”

“Oh, like you’ve been mature tonight!”

“I’
m trying to keep you safe, Hannah.”

“
You don’t even know me. I’ll always be grateful to you for protecting me from those losers last weekend, but you need to quit hovering over me, and go away.”

“I’
m not going anywhere until your cute little ass is parked in the seat of your car, so you might as well drop it.”

“Don’t talk
about my cute little ass unless you plan on touching it!”

He was
turned on again by her frustration toward him. The temptation to kiss her and touch her was leading the race.

“
Ugh! You’re so infuriating. You tell me not to talk to you again, but then you call my ass cute. You know, you kissed me back earlier. I don’t know what you want from—”

Brett’s lips attacked hers. He ran both hands u
p behind her neck into her hair and thrust his tongue into her mouth. She was irresistible to him as she yelled from her curvy, petite body.

He found her sexy in her red, button up
shirt, tight jeans and cowboy boots. The beers had caught up with him, and he couldn’t keep his hands and mouth off of her a second more.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him in closer to her, pressing herself against his body. Grabbing his bottom lip with her teet
h, she slowly sucked it into her mouth before letting go.

H
e let out a moan and seized her red lips again. His experience was shining through from the way he maneuvered his tongue in her mouth, sweeping every inch of it with precision.

He almost lifted her off the ground as he
swallowed her body beneath his strong arms. All Brett could think about was how warm her body felt against his and how he wanted to caress every dip and curve of it.

He grabbed her ass and squeezed as the lust he was feeling overshadowed all rational thought. Their kis
s was the hottest he could remember, and the next thing he felt was Hannah pressing her hips against the hard-on in his jeans.

She barely took
her lips off of his and gave him a lascivious look. “I want your hands all over me,” she whispered.

He let out a gr
owl. “Shit, Hannah, you’re so tempting.” Their bodies could have only been closer if they were naked as they grinded against each other.

“
Damn, Brett. Did she magically sober up?” Dylan asked sarcastically after he busted out the exit. He had a blonde in a short, black skirt hanging on his arm.

Brett let Hannah go. He watched her swaying again as she went to sit on a bench.
By that time all of their friends had piled out of the bar.

“Brett, you ready?” Matt as
ked, walking to the car with the brunette.

“I have to wait
until her driver gets here. I’ll catch a ride with Cody.” Brett walked in a circle while running his hands through his hair.

Why the h
ell can’t I stay away from her?

H
e knew he wasn’t going to be able to make any decisions with that much alcohol in his system. Hudson pulled up, and Brett was surprised when he saw Austin making out with Chelsea before she got in the car.

Hannah walked up
to Brett and squeezed his hand as she gazed up at him. “In case you don’t speak to me again, I want you to know that was the best kiss I’ve ever experienced.”

He
only saw sadness in her eyes before she walked away. Hudson rolled down the window and waved him over.

“Thanks again. You
’re a good guy to make sure they made it home safely.”

“I
didn’t want anything to happen to them. Goodnight, Hudson.” Brett felt like a fraud. He was the one who violated Hannah, and he loved every minute of it, craving more of her—all of her.

His friends waited
on him. Cody drove and Brett rode up front with him. He noticed Dylan busy making out with the blonde in the back seat and hoped she’d be enough to make Dylan forget about Hannah.

Brett woke up on Sunday with a massive headache. He was supposed to work that day and be off the next, but he called Jay and told him he was going to switch the days.

Also, h
is urge to see Hannah was strong, so he felt the need to put distance between them before it went any further. Matt was on the couch when he went into the family room.

“Where’
s your friend?” Brett asked.

“I just took her to get her car
, and damn she was hot in bed. I might have to see her again. So, what’s up with you and your
friend
?”

“Nothing. We both
had too much to drink,” Brett replied.

“
Bullshit.”

“Nothing’
s going to happen, Matt.”

“Why? I don’t see what th
e big deal is other than it’ll piss Dylan off.”

“First,
have you forgotten who her mother is? I can’t imagine how dating someone like her works. Talk about growing up in different worlds.

“
Second, I can’t lose this contract for Jay. I’m afraid if her parents find out she’s messing with the hired help, they’ll drop us. This is a shit load of money for Jay, and I’m not screwing it up for him.”

“I
think you’re worrying for nothing. She’s an adult. Her parents are probably never home, anyway. I’ve known you forever, bro, and I’ve never seen you like this before—ever.

“
In a week you were willing to fight eight guys over her and almost your friend. When we came out of the bar last night, I thought you were about to do her right in the parking lot. You’re out of control and just need to admit it. You’ve got it bad for her.”

“
You’re right about me being out of control, and you know I can’t deal with that. I always know how things are going to go. That would never be the case with her.

“
When I said I wanted a girlfriend closer to my age, I still meant one older than me, not nineteen, and I’m not dating Lorna Ray Mason’s daughter.”

On Monday, Hannah left early in the morning to go to acting classes she’d started for the summer. When she returned, she saw that Brett was working alone. She was dying to know if he felt different after their kiss, so she went to see him.

She
was wearing a short, strapless, pink sundress and had her hair pulled up into a messy bun when she approached him.

“
Hi, Brett,” she said softly. She watched him stand still for several seconds with his back to her before he turned around.

“Hi, Hannah. How are you?”
She saw the anxious look on his face.

He doesn’t
even want to see me.

“OK, and you?”

“Hot and tired,” he said tersely.

“I’
m going to go. I’m sorry I bothered you.” She began turning away.

“What did you want, Hannah?”

“I can see from the look on your face that you’re upset I’m even standing in front of you.”

“Just say what you came to say.”

“I was going to ask if your feelings changed at all after our kiss, but it’s obvious they haven’t.” She stared into his eyes, looking for something hopeful.

“
I told you I can’t spend time with you.”

“How can you feel that way after
... after that kiss?”

“I’
m sorry I lost control. It won’t happen again.”

Hannah held her finger up by her chest and pointed it at him, shaking it as she spoke.
“You’re an asshole. You pulled me away from those two guys at the bar just so you could put your hands all over me.

“
I can’t believe I thought there was a chance I meant something more to you. You’re no better than all those other guys. Don’t worry. I won’t be back to pester you.” Hurt and furious, she turned to walk away.

Guilt
hit him hard. He didn’t want her to think he was just using her. She’d almost made it to the pool when he yelled for her. “Hannah, wait.” He took off his work gloves and watched her stop and hesitate before she turned around to walk back to him.

He felt lik
e shit when he saw the sorrow on her face as she approached him. He had no intentions of touching her, but without a thought, he held her face and ran his thumb across her bottom lip.

“The kiss was amazing, and I can’t stop thinking about it,” he sai
d, looking down at her radiant eyes and smooth complexion. He loved how her face was peppered with just a few, light freckles that matched the hint of color in her blonde hair.

“Then let’s do it again,” she said with a seductive look
.

“
I can’t date you, Hannah.”

“I don’t understand.
Why are you trying to fight it?”

Seeing the yearning in her eyes
, touching her and smelling her strawberry scent had him asking the same question. He sucked in a sharp breath when he felt her hand playing with the back of his hair.

The tingling from her magic fingers spread through him, causing the
intense craving he had for her to snake back into his veins. He grabbed her face and kissed her hard. In an instant, her hands were inside the back of his shirt, and she was pushing her body up against him.

“I don’t want to get your dress dirty, Hannah,”
he said, barely releasing her lips.

“You
can get me as dirty as you want.” She swiftly yanked his shirt over his head.

He didn’t have
time to stop her. His eyebrows raised and hunger surfaced.

“Hannah, you
can’t say shit like that. You’re making me want to do things to you right here in your yard.”

She threw her arms around his neck and slipped her tongue into his mouth, invading it with her desire. Unable to resist
her erotic advance, Brett wrapped his arms around her waist before he indulged in her invitation to taste her eager tongue.

He kissed her fiercely as he ran his hand
s down her back and over her backside, growling as he fought the urge to reach up under it to feel her panties and sultry skin.

He w
as lost in his lust as the feel of her hands sliding along his sweat covered shoulders, and her warm body pressed against his throbbing ache fed the tingling pleasure cutting through him.

The irrefutable passion between them was working him like a puppet, controlling his hands as they went
from her ass to her breasts, cupping them, squeezing them until he felt her nipples harden against his palms.

“I know you want me, so
be with me,” Hannah said as she gasped between kisses. Hearing her words pulled him out of his erotic trance. He grabbed hold of her arms and pulled her off of him before he looked around the property.

“Stop
. Hudson told me how protective he is of you. He’ll have me fired for sure if he sees us right now.”

“He loves you, Brett. He has
nothing but nice things to say about you, especially since the other night.”

“No. I’
m not going any further with you, Hannah, so stop trying to seduce me,” he said angrily as he ran his hands through his messy hair.

Hannah picked his shirt up off the ground and threw it in h
is face.

“You’
re such an ass. Are you actually saying that was all
my
doing? Why did you say the kiss was amazing and do it again if you were just going to toss me away?”

Brett glared at her.
“Are you just wanting me to fuck you, Hannah because that’s the message you keep sending?” He jerked his t-shirt back over his head.

“
I tried to walk away from you, Brett. You’re the one who yelled at me to come back here. I never sleep around, and I don’t think having these feelings and urges for you and only you make me a slut.

“
If you’d have a mature conversation with me, I could tell you that I haven’t felt this way about anyone before. Instead, you want to play some kind of sick mind game with me!” Hannah stormed away.

Brett felt as if his body was on fire from confusion, anger and sexual frustration.
He launched his supplies in the back of his truck and left. He felt a need to bash his head in to stop thinking about her. To stop wanting her. To stop craving her. He needed her out of his system for good. When he arrived back home, he flung the front door open.

“Brett, what’s up, man?” Dylan
asked.

“My dick, that’s what’s up.
” He paced by the front door with his fingers entwined behind his head.

“
Dude that was more information than I needed. Who got your panties in a wad?” Dylan asked, smirking.

“Hannah
.”

“Is she being a tease?
I can tell you straight up, if you’re going to date younger girls, you better be ready for some of that shit.”

“No, she keeps
throwing herself at me.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“She’s too young for me, and she’s Lorna’s daughter. I can’t sleep with her.”

“You’
re not right in the head, Brett. Those are reasons you need to do her, not to mention that she’s fucking beautiful.”

“You know the
women I’ve slept with understood up front that we were only going to screw around. I can tell Hannah wants more. I can’t give her that, so she needs to leave me alone. I’m not going to use her for sex.”

“
Dude, I don’t think you’ve wanted to see it, but you get rid of a woman when you sense she’s starting to want more. I think you’re upset because you just met Hannah and already feel something for her.”

Brett stood silent with his hands on his hips, considering what Dylan said.

“Anyway, I’ll happily take her off your hands. There’s a good chance she would’ve ended up in mine if you hadn’t interfered.”

Brett pointed to Dylan.

“Don’t go there. I fucking mean it.”

“
I won’t say anything again about me having a chance with Hannah because it’s more than obvious you got it bad for her, but it pisses me off that you don’t want me near her, yet you aren’t jumping on the opportunity. You can’t have it both ways. I still can’t believe you’d fight me over a girl,” Dylan said, shaking his head.