Clutch (Custom Culture) (16 page)

Chapter 23

Clutch

Once again I found myself driving like a man on fire through the crowded streets of Los Angeles, clutching the steering wheel so hard it nearly crumbled in my hands. I had no shred of control left when it came to Taylor. The tacos that had sounded so good on the way to the taco stand had lost all their appeal once I’d tasted Taylor’s lips again. Now my hunger had an entirely different focus. I knew once I’d allowed myself the pleasure of touching her that I would not be able to stop wanting her and I’d been right.

My tires chirped as they hit the driveway at a ridiculous speed. I turned off the car, and we hurried inside. The house was hot and stuffy, but opening windows would have taken too much time and effort.

I grabbed Taylor and held her arms tightly as I kissed her hard and deep. Her fingers clutched the fabric of my shirt as if she needed to hold onto something to keep her balance. This time I was the one that needed to slow down, but it seemed impossible.

My hands moved to the buttons on her blouse. Her hands reached to the bottom of my shirt and we parted mouths just long enough for me to slide my t-shirt off over my head. She pulled her lips from mine and looked up at me, and I swallowed a sharp breath.

My hand reached up and I pressed my palm against her cheek. “If you only knew how hard it has been for me to deny myself these past few years. It’s been torture.”

“I think I have some idea.” She took hold of my wrist and placed my palm over her heart. It stuttered wildly beneath my touch. Then she leaned closer and pressed her mouth against the bare skin of my chest. Her tongue and lips trailed down my abdomen to the top of my jeans. Her fingers deftly opened up my fly and she pushed my pants to the floor. A groan caught in my throat as she took hold of me and traced the hard tip with her tongue. She straightened and stepped away from me. She licked her bottom lips and stared at me. “You take my breath away, James Mason.”

Then she slid the open blouse off her smooth brown shoulders and slid her shorts and panties to the ground. She was flawless, and as many times as I’d imagined her naked, nothing had compared to the real thing.

She reached back and pulled the ribbon she had tied in her hair. Her copper hair cascaded around her shoulders. A sly, sultry smile tipped up her plump lips as she held the ribbon up to me. “Come on, Viking, you’ll never need to deny yourself again.”

My heart slammed back and forth against my ribs as I took the ribbon from her hand. Taylor was wild and passionate in every aspect of life, just as I’d expected. Even though she was completely naked and just handed me her ribbon with a pleading, hungry look in her eyes, she sat demurely, almost shyly, on the bed.

I stared down at her, and every fantasy I’d ever had about having Taylor naked beneath me raced through my head. I motioned for her to lie back on the bed. Her perfect, full breasts rose and fell as her breaths came quicker and shorter. I could not stop looking at her, stretched-out, supple and aching for me to touch her. I balled the ribbon up in my fist.

“Turn on your stomach.” The words cracked out of my throat.

She hesitated but only for a second. I leaned down and lightly bit her round bottom. She half giggled-half squealed in pleasure. I straddled her legs, not allowing the full force of my weight to rest on her. I ran my mouth along her side and then across her shoulders. Her thin body shivered beneath me. I reached up and tied one end of the ribbon loosely around her wrist. I pulled it through the rod iron railing of my bed and then I tied her other wrist.

She mewled softly as I ran a long line of kisses down the center of her back until I reached her bottom. My hand slid beneath her and my fingers found the moist heat between her legs. She sucked in a breath as my fingers massaged the warm folds. Her bottom lifted toward my mouth and my tongue trailed over her bare skin. I pushed her bottom higher exposing every inch of her to my mouth.

“Clutch,” her voice shot out on a breathless whisper.

She pressed her face into the pillow to muffle a cry as she met my hungry mouth with her heated flesh. I tasted every sweet bit of her as her body moved rhythmically with every stroke of my tongue. My fingers continued to smooth over the hot nub as my mouth and tongue explored her intimately. Her bound hands gripped the bars of the head board, and she no longer muffled her screams. My hand and mouth moved faster and deeper until I felt the heat of her cascade around my tongue. Her cries of ecstasy filled the air and made me so hard I thought I would lose control. I leaned over and grabbed the condom from the night stand.

I reached up and pulled free the ribbon and she twisted onto her back. She reached down and took hold of me. Using one hand to brace myself, I slid my free hand beneath her bottom and lifted her toward me. I pushed inside of her. She moaned with pleasure as I pulled her harder against me.

Her fingernails dug into my arms as she threw her long legs around my back and took me in deeper and deeper with each thrust. She screamed out again, and I could not hold back. I pushed into her and waves of release pulsed through my taut muscles.

I fell in a breathless, mindless heap next to her on the bed, and I pulled her into my arms.

***

The nurse behind the desk looked up at me and her eyes widened. “Oh my, you must be Mr. Mason’s brother. Amazing family resemblance.” She stood and looked up at me. “And I thought he was big. How on earth did your parents keep the refrigerator stocked? I’ll show you to his room. I’ve been meaning to head down there.” She scuttled around from her desk and Taylor and I followed her fast stride. The nurse looked back over her shoulder at us. “I sent three volunteers up to geriatrics forty minutes ago, but they have mysteriously vanished. I believe it has something to do with your brother.” We reached a room with a door ajar and female giggles drifted out to the hallway. The nurse sighed loudly and stepped inside.

Barrett was sitting up in bed, shirtless, of course, which may or may not have had to do with his injury. It was hard to know with my brother. Three girls in striped uniform dresses hovered over his bed. The terrified look they gave the nurse assured us that they were the missing volunteers.

The nurse cleared her throat loudly. “Girls, this is definitely not geriatrics. Now get up there or I won’t sign off on your hours.”

One of the girls made a point of touching Barrett’s shoulder before bidding him farewell.

The nurse walked over and checked the I.V. bag. “Mr. Mason, your arrival has disrupted the volunteer program considerably. I suppose it’s a good thing you’re leaving us tomorrow. Then we can get back to normal around here.”

Barrett smiled up at her as she leaned over him and checked the tubes in his hand. “You know you’re going to miss me when I’m gone.”

“Just like I’d miss a bunion on my foot.” The nurse looked back at me. “Is he always like this?”

“You mean annoying? Yes, yes he is.”

Taylor laughed. The nurse left the room.

Barrett pointed at my hand. “I thought you were bringing tacos.”

“We had the tacos,” I glanced over at Taylor, “but we got sidetracked.”

Barrett lifted his brow. “I’ll bet you did. Here I am, suffering in the hospital with burns and you two are whooping it up. I guess it’s a good thing one of the volunteers brought me a burger and fries.”

Taylor sat on the edge of his bed. “Cute girls in little striped dresses fawning over you and bringing you burgers, your suffering has been great indeed.”

“Yeah,” Barrett said with dramatic flourish. “Still, I’ll be glad to get the hell out of here tomorrow. Hey, Jimmy, did you meet Aimee’s parents? They’ve been here all day. Nice people. Rich.”

“Her parents? But I thought they wanted nothing to do with her?”

“When they heard that she’d almost died, they came right away.” Barrett reached over to his dresser for a candy bar that had been left there. He held it up. “Sweetest little night nurse brought me this from the cafeteria.”

“You’re friggin’ ridiculous,” I said. “So, what about her parents? They’ve made up?”

“Looks that way. I guess all it takes is almost losing someone to make your realize how much you love them.” Barrett stared down at the chocolate in his hand, and his face darkened some. “I know you called Mom and Dad. They never came to see me.”

Taylor flashed me a quick look and then she reached over and helped him fold down the foil on the candy. “Your parents hate driving on the freeway, don’t they? Otherwise, I’m sure they would’ve come.”

“Yeah, I guess.” He laid the candy back on the table and leaned back slowly. He winced as his bandaged shoulders rested against the pillow. The topic of our parents had taken the wind out of him. Being the youngest, he still held onto that slim bit of hope that my parents would suddenly become involved and interested in our lives, but that would never happen. It wasn’t in their nature. And just like Taylor’s parents were overbearing and too concerned about her life, our parents were way too removed from ours.

Unfamiliar voices sounded in the hallway and a couple walked into Barrett’s room. It was easy to see that they were Aimee’s parents. Her mom had the same sweet smile and spray of freckles. Barrett had been right. They smelled of money.

Aimee’s father stuck out his hand. “You must be Barrett’s brother, James. Aimee speaks highly of you. I’m David Peters and this is my wife, Bianca. We can’t thank you enough for what your brother and you did, risking your lives to save our Aimee.”

“I’m just glad we were there to pull her out safely. This is Taylor. She was there that night as well. It was her voice that guided us out of the smoke.”

Mr. Peters walked over and stuck out his hand again. “Thank you, Taylor.”

“You’re entirely welcome.”

Aimee’s father reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet and looked back at me. “I understand that you lost a sixty-five Shelby in the fire.” He shook his head. “Terrible tragedy. I’m a bit of a classic car collector myself, and I have many friends with heavy pockets and a weakness for vintage cars.” He handed me a business card. “Please send me the information for your parts business. I think I can send a flood of clients your way, and I’ll keep my ears open about a replacement for that Shelby. Oh, and I insist on paying your brother’s hospital bills.”

“Thank you, Sir, but that’s not necessary.”

He held up his hand. “No, I insist. I’ve already made arrangements for the bill to be sent to me. It’s the least I can do.”

I didn’t know how to respond. It had been the most generous thing anyone had ever done for me. “Your daughter, Aimee, is an incredible person. She works hard and deserves happiness. I’m glad you have found each other again.”

Mr. Peters looked back at his wife and then back at me. “Sometimes, as parents, we make stupid decisions, and we have certainly learned our lesson. Our pride got in the way, but that’s all changed.”

I glanced over at Taylor. Her gaze had dropped and she stared down at the floor, but I knew exactly what she was thinking.

“Well, we’re going back over to Aimee’s room. Stop by and say hello to her when you get a chance,” Mr. Peters said.

“I will.”

They left.

“You know,” Barrett said with a yawn, “I’ve been thinking— maybe I’ll become a firefighter. I kind of like that whole facing danger aspect of it all.”

Taylor shook her head. “That’s just what you need— a fireman’s uniform. You’ve already got the whole female world turned upside down. I can only imagine.”

Barrett blinked with feigned astonishment. “What do you mean? Do girls like firemen?”

She went to smack him on the arm but then thought better of it. “Even injured, you are still such an ass.”

“But I’m serious. I think I’d be good at it.”

I pulled up a chair and sat. “I guess you think you can just snap your fingers and you’ll land yourself a job with a fire squad. Doesn’t happen like that, Rett. Those jobs are hard to get, and they require a lot of training.”

Once again, he looked deflated. “What the hell am I going to do, Jimmy? I can’t clean oil off of car parts all my life.”

I looked around at the barren hospital room with its pale mint green walls. “Apparently, you’ve been having a lot of time to reflect while you’ve been sitting here. Just get healed up and then you can start thinking about it, Rett.” My conversation with my dad had gone as I’d expected. His reaction to Barrett’s jumping into a burning house to save a life and his subsequent injuries had been met with the same emotional reaction as if I’d told him the weather. He had shown some emotion though— anger about Barrett getting kicked off of the boat. That’s when I realized that Barrett could never go back home. It wasn’t the kind of home you went back to. My parents were like sea turtles, once you left the nest, you were on your own to fight for survival. And we’d all left the nest for good. “Rett, you know you can stay with me for as long as you need.”

He nodded. “Thanks, Bro, you’ve always been there for me.”

“So, they’re releasing you tomorrow?”

“Yep, just have to go back to the doctor’s office to have the burns redressed in two days.”

Just then a very pretty nurse popped her head into the room. “Just checking to see if you needed anything before I get off shift.”

Barrett lifted his head. “Are you leaving? I’m out of here tomorrow.”

The nurse’s face dropped with disappointment. She stepped into the room. Barrett shot us a
it was great to see you but get out
look.

I stood. “Call me tomorrow when you’re ready to leave.”

“You bet.” He looked over at Taylor and winked. “See you later, Sis.”

“Yeah, that’s what I need— another brother.” She leaned over and kissed his forehead and we left my brother behind with his extremely attentive nurse.

Chapter 24

Clutch

Lately it seemed to be the natural order of things in my life. Something fucking awesome would happen only to be followed by an explosion of shit. As promised, Aimee’s father took care of Barrett’s medical expenses, and he’d sent several affluent new clients our way. The Shelby was gone but business was booming. Taylor and I had been inseparable, and I spent every spare moment of my day thinking about her. Whatever her parents thought, she’d known all along that we were meant to be together, and while it had taken longer for the inevitability of
us
to penetrate my thick skull, I’d come to realize that there was no one else but Taylor. The only major flaw in all of it was that her family, including Jason, had no idea we’d been seeing each other. Not that I gave a damn what any of them thought anymore, but it was just easier, for now, to keep it quiet.

I just hadn’t realized how much easier.

Jason walked into the office. His mouth was pulled tight in anger.

I leaned back in my chair. “What’s up?”

He didn’t say a word as he walked over to the small couch and sat down. His nostrils widened, and he seemed to be trying to control a fit of rage.

“Is there a problem?” I asked.

“I don’t know,
Buddy
, is there?”

“Spit it the fuck out, Jason. I’m busy.”

“Apparently, my mom was cleaning up Taylor’s junkyard of a room, and she came across a sweatshirt that was balled up and thrown in a corner.”

I’d hoped his tirade would have nothing to do with Taylor, but obviously, it was all about to hit the fan. But I kept up my guard. “Well, that’s just fucking amazing, Jason. Good for her. Now let me get back to work.” I turned back to my computer.

“It smelled like smoke.”

I stared down at the keyboard and thought about the things that had gone through my head to prepare me for this conversation. I spun back around and faced him. “That’s because Taylor was with me the night of the fire. But I guess you and your awesome detective powers already figured that out.”

He stood abruptly but I stayed seated. Jason was always intimidated by my size, and I didn’t need that edge today. I knew I was on the right side of all of this.

“I love Taylor.”

“She’s not for you,” he snarled. “I’ve already told you my parents don’t want—”

“I don’t give a fuck about them. She’s eighteen. She can make her own decisions. If your parents are stupid enough to lose their daughter over their petty ignorance then that’s the way this will go.”

The side of his jaw twitched angrily. “Fine, but are you ready to end this partnership over it?”

It was a chunk of ammunition I hadn’t expected. “Do you mean that your parents still have so much control over your life that you would put your livelihood on the line just to please them? What the hell has happened to you? And why are you so against me in this?”

“I wouldn’t be giving up my livelihood. I’ll take my clients and you take yours.”

“And we compete with each other in the same town? That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. This business is booming. You really want to give that up just because I love your sister?”

“Just think about what I said.” He turned to leave.

“So, I’m supposed to choose between business with you and life with your sister.” He walked out of the office. “That’s an easy fucking decision,” I yelled after him.

I slouched back against the chair. It had happened again— a dramatic shift in my day. My computer dinged as another order came in. I stared at the monitor. For a while, there seemed no limit to what we could accomplish with this business, but now Jason was willing to throw it away. His loyalty to his parents and his bizarre need to protect his sister’s virtue was going to bring it all to a halt. But I didn’t need to give it a thought. I wanted Taylor, above anything else in this world, I wanted her.

With the shitty morning I’d just gone through, I worried what might be awaiting Taylor at home. I knew she was at school and wouldn’t be able to answer her phone. I dialed her number and it went straight to voice mail.

“Call me. We need to talk.”

Another call came in as I hung up. “Hey, Nix.”

“You don’t sound great. What’s wrong?” Nix had the uncanny ability to read people’s thoughts through the phone.

“What’s right?” I asked.

“You need a night out. Dray is in a competition tonight and I told him we’d go. He’s been in a bad way. Cassie got an offer for an overseas photographic journalist internship. She’s thinking of taking it, and he’s really down about it.”

“I don’t blame him,” I said. There was a long pause, and it seemed we were both thinking the same thing. “Hell, when did women become the most important part of our lives?”

“I know. Who’d have thought? What do you say about tonight? Just a lot of beer and head busting.”

“I’m there. I need a good dose of both.”