Brett and Hannah (Soul Mates 101 Series) (9 page)

“No
, but you’re relentless, Hannah. I’m sure you’ll acquire everything you want in life.”

“It hasn’t been working
lately, but you can change that by giving me a
taste
of what I want now,” she said seductively.

The combination of alcohol
, her gorgeous, half-naked body in his bed, and the dirty talk coming out of her enticing mouth had him on top of her in an instant.

His hands traveled through
her strawberry scented hair as his weight pressed against her small body. His hot mouth was on her neck, kissing it as desire turned to lust and floated between them in the darkness.

Growling
into her ear, he pressed his hard erection against her. “God, Hannah. I want you so bad, but I can’t have you right now.”

H
e slid his hand up along the silk of her panties to the dipping curve of her waist. Unable to fight the lust rushing through him, he ran his hand up under her t-shirt, taking in the pleasure from the creamy feel of her soft breast. He massaged it as he circled her nipple with his thumb.

A moan escaped her before she
reached down and tried to pull his pajama pants down.

“
We can’t do this tonight, Hannah. God I want to, but we can’t. You’re not making me break all my rules.”

“Please, Brett. I’
ve never wanted anything as much as I want you right now.”

He never let her go
but became still, soaking in her words that he’d finally allowed himself to relish in.

H
is shuddering breath wisped along her neck, and the vibration from his pounding heart moved between them. A war was waged as his body rebelled against his mind. He lay still, contemplating the consequences of breaking all his rules.

“Are you going to make me leave like you
always do?” she asked softly.

“No, Hannah.
I’m not going to do that anymore,” he said somberly. Guilt tugged at his heart when he heard her say those words the way she did. He regretted pushing her away.

“I’m lying here thinking about how bad I want you. My craving for you is trying to win,
but I’m not going to let it.” He moved his lips to her cheek and then her forehead.

“When
I make love to you, I’m going to take my time and see your gorgeous face and body.”

“It feels perfect now though.”
She ran her hand through his hair.

“
I shouldn’t have attacked you, but you telling me to give you a taste … shit, Hannah. You have the most perfect body I’ve ever seen, and it’s almost naked in my bed. That isn’t helping anything.”

“I swear I want to, Brett.”

“I have no way to know you won’t feel differently in the morning. You were pretty pissed at me. Please, don’t push me on this. Can we just sleep next to each other?”

“OK,
but I was only ever mad at you because you didn’t want me.”

H
e rolled off and lay next to her.

“I’
ve always wanted you, Hannah … always.”

Hannah woke up to the weight of Brett against her. His arm was draped across her waist, and he was pressed up against her back. It felt right to her to sleep against his warm body. She didn’t think she could survive him walking away from her again. He was her abiding protector, and her heart was already his if he wanted it.

Needing to use the restroom,
she carefully slid out from under him and tiptoed to the door. When Hannah came back to the bedroom, she saw Bret was sitting up in bed. With a worried expression, he let out a deep breath.

“I was about to look on the floor for your dress. I thought you left.”

“Would that have upset you?”

“Yes, now get back in bed
with me, please, and I sure hope none of the guys saw your ass hanging out of that t-shirt.”

She grinned
and climbed back in bed, spooning with him. She was so relieved that he still wanted her. They dozed off to sleep.

The next time Hannah awoke, she could feel Brett stroking her hair. She rolled over toward him and saw his brow furrowed as if in deep thought.

“What are you thinking about?” she asked
.

“You. I was admiring how pretty y
our hair is and how good it smells, but I was mainly thinking about how I hurt you. I’m sorry, especially for yesterday. I tried so hard to resist you, and I know I hurt you. I’ve never had these feelings before. I really don’t know how all this works.”

“I don’t know, either. All
I do know is that I can’t stand to be away from you. All is forgiven if you’ll just spend time with me. I’m sorry for the name calling. I won’t do it again,” she said, nuzzling her face against him and pressing kisses all the way up his neck.

“
Will you ever forgive me?” she asked, whispering in his ear.

“
Damn, you’re sexy, Hannah. I can hardly take it.”

“
You and your friends should come over today to swim. I bet they’d love it. I want to spend time with you when you’re not working, so we can get to know each other.”

“What do you think your parents
will say about you having the landscaper and his friends over to swim?”

“I know you don
’t believe me, but they wouldn’t care. I can tell you have the wrong idea about them. They’re not snooty people and did not grow up with money. They were raised in the country and are very down to earth. My mom loves what she does, and the money is a bonus. She would eat you up.”

“She would, huh?”

“Yes, but they left yesterday to go on tour, so you don’t need to worry about it, anyway.

“
My dad’s my mom’s manager. I have the house to myself for months. Well, Hudson, and our housekeeper Gloria are around some.”

“You’
re going to be alone in that enormous house for that long?”

“Yep. I’
m used to it.”

“I know you could easily be
living out on your own, but it’s disturbing to think of you in that huge place by yourself.”

“Then maybe you need to keep
me company,” she said alluringly.

“Don’t tempt me.
If I get in your bed, I don’t know if I’ll find my way out. I’m already wondering how I’ll ever get work done with you running around the backyard in your little bikinis now that I’ve had my hands on more of your skin. It’s already not been easy.”

“You’
re so cute.” She inhaled a deep breath.

“Mmm
....”

“What was that for?”
he asked.

“I can smell yo
ur cologne on your sheets. The morning after you held me at Olivia’s, I could smell your cologne on my dress. It was strange at first, but once the girls told me what you did, I felt so protected by it.”

“We need to get up. I’
m having thoughts I can’t act on.”

Hannah started giggling.

“I’m sober now, so I won’t stop you.”

“
I sense you’re going to get me into all sorts of trouble,” he said, swatting her butt before he got out of bed. Brett found a pair of athletic shorts for her to put on.

She had to dig a hair band out of her clutch and tie it around the front of the shorts for them to stay up.
She sat on the couch while Brett got them something to drink.

“I haven’t felt this hung
over in a long time. Fights, alcohol, seduction … I never would have thought a young one would be such a bad influence on me,” he said, grinning as he handed her a glass of orange juice.

He sat next to her on the cou
ch. Pulling her knees up toward her chest, she pressed herself up against him. He immediately wrapped his arm around the side of her legs and pulled her close while turning on the television.

“So, what’
s your major?” she asked.

“Managerial Finance.”

“I wouldn’t have guessed that one. It seems kind of stuffy for someone who enjoys working outside so much.”

“I know. I enjoy landscaping, but it won’t pay the bills when I have a family unless I
have my own business, and I’ve seen what it’s done to my bosses back. I don’t want to put my body through that forever. I have an internship starting this fall at a prominent brokerage firm, and I’m excited about it. What’s your major?”

“Mine’
s pretty predictable, theater.”

“You’re wanting to be an actre
ss?”

“I’m not sure what I’m going to do, yet. It’
s very up in the air since I have three years of school left.”

Austin a
nd Chelsea came out of his room. Chelsea went over and sat near Hannah on the couch. Austin only had on basketball shorts, and Hannah was finding it awkward to see guys barely dressed in their own environment.

“Good morning, Chelsea,” Hannah said,
grinning from ear to ear.

Chelsea chuckled. “Good
morning, girl.”

Austin
stood in the doorway staring at Brett and Hannah.

“I know you’
re dying to say something, so just spit it out,” Brett said.

“I’m just surprised.
I think it’s cool, but the rest of them are going to give you a lot of shit.”

Hannah felt uncomfortable. She knew they were referring to her
being there, and she couldn’t figure out what the big deal was unless he thought it was shocking because of who she was. She hated when people acted that way because of her mom.

Cody came out next.
He was only wearing blue jeans and a ball cap with no shirt or socks. He stopped at the doorway.

“I had to rub my eyes
to be sure what I’m seeing is real. We need a picture of you two to hang on the wall,” Cody said, laughing in his hick voice.

Hannah’s
blood pressure was rising.

What’s with these guys acting like I’
m not in the room. It’s pissing me off. I can hear you. Hello!

“Shut it, Cody before I put you in a head lock.”

“Hey, what do you expect?” Cody asked.

After a few minut
es passed, Hannah was feeling relaxed again. Dylan surfaced only wearing athletic shorts.

Hannah thou
ght of when she danced with him at the bar and found it uncomfortable now that she was with Brett. She couldn’t help but notice his good looks. Just like the other two, he stood frozen in the doorway, a massive grin spreading across his face.

“Good morning, ladies. Where’
s the camera? This is a monumental moment in this house. I really thought you’d take her home last night, and I sure didn’t expect to see her cozy on our couch this morning. Hannah, I need to run out and get you a damn trophy.”

“
Shut up, Dylan. Do you have any kind of filter?” Brett asked.

“I’
ve had enough of this shit. I want to go home,” Hannah said as she got up off the couch and headed toward the bedroom. She had to go past Dylan to get there. Right when she was walking by him, he grabbed her arm.

“I’
m sorry, Hannah. I was just playing around.”

Hannah jerked loose and lost it on the guys.

“Oh, and you think I don’t get enough of that shit? I’m not a celebrity just because my mother can hit a damn note. It would be nice if I could just be treated like a normal person once in my life.

“No matter how hard I try to fit in, e
veryone sees what they want. Sure, take a picture, so everyone knows Hannah Ray Mason slept over at your house.”

Matt
awoke from the yelling and came down the hall.

“What did I t
ell you, Brett, bat shit crazy,” he said, laughing.

Brett jumped up from the couch.
Her eyes filled with rage as she turned to go to his room.

“
Oh no, you’re not going anywhere, sweetheart. That’s what you think this is about?” Dylan asked as he grabbed her arm.

He looked at Brett. “You haven’t told her, have you? She has no idea just how special she is.”

“Hannah, I’m sorry. I knew they were going to say something about you being here, so it was stupid of me to not tell you before they woke up,” Brett said.

“What’
s going on? What are you keeping from me?” She stared at him with a worried expression.

“
Dylan, I want to tell her. You’ve done enough damage,” Brett said.

“
No, I want her to hear this from me since I’ve obviously pissed her off so badly.” Dylan turned to Hannah. “Sweetheart, the reason we’re all in shock about you being here this morning is because Brett’s never had a girl in this house in the whole three years we’ve lived here. I mean—never.

“
Not one foot of a woman Brett’s hooked up with has ever stepped in this house, so that
chick
is the reason we think you’re special. Also, because you’re so damn gorgeous.”

Brett glared at Dylan
.

“
So get your panties out of a wad. I’m sure I can speak for everyone when I say we’re happy you’re here this morning,” Dylan said.

Hannah didn’t know how to respond. Dylan had said the sweetest words.
She looked at him. “I had no idea. I’m sorry I yelled.” Then her eyes turned to Brett’s.

“I’
m sorry I pressured you to be with me,” she said before she ran to his room, overcome with emotion.

“Let me talk to her.” Chelsea got up off of the couch to go to Brett’s room.
When she opened the door, Hannah was sitting on his bed.

“Hannah
, why are you crying? I know you’re embarrassed, but what he said was sweet. They like you, and most importantly this should show you what you mean to Brett.”

“What if he’
s feeling pressured into seeing me, and he isn’t ready? He’ll walk away again, and I don’t appreciate Matt’s comment.”

“I have a feeling that was an inside joke. I don’t think he meant it perso
nal. If Brett’s waited three years to bring a woman here, then you didn’t pressure him into anything. Come back out. I’m sure he’s worried about you.”

Cody pushed Dylan’s arm.

“Way to go.”

“Hey, I was nice to her.”

Brett glared at him again.

“I wanted to be the one to tell her.”

“Then you should have told her soo
ner, douche bag.”

“And you,” Brett said, pointing to Matt. “How the hell am I suppose
d to explain bat shit crazy?”

“I’m sorry, bro
. I thought she was on her way out for good with all the yelling. Thank God we don’t have female roommates. I couldn’t live with all this estrogen.”

Hannah walked back into the family room.
She immediately walked over to Dylan and threw her arms around his neck. He almost fell backwards but hugged her back.

“What you said was so sweet.
I don’t think you’re a jerk anymore,” she said.

He
shook his head and chuckled.

She
walked over to Brett and looked up into his blue, weary eyes. “I had no idea. I figured you’d brought a lot of women here.”

“
None of them were special enough to be in my bed. You’re not pressuring me into anything.” He leaned down and gave her a soft, lingering kiss on the lips.

Are we dating now?
What are we?

“Um … Hannah, I’m sorry for what I said earlier. It was a little inside joke. I thought you were pissed and leaving for good,” Matt said.

“Thanks, Matt. It’s Sunday, are you guys off work?” Hannah asked.

They all chimed in with
a “yes”.

“I’
m inviting you to swim at my house today. My parents are on tour. I have the whole place to myself. I’d love it if all of you came over.