His buddy has a knife on Torch, but he quickly twists his hand and frees the knife from his grip.
He stops and looks at us, then runs over, grabs his buddy, and drags him down the parking lot. Liam reaches down and helps me off the ground.
“Holy shit, kid. You knocked his ass out,” Torch praises and laughs a little as they do that man handshake thing. Liam shrugs like it’s no big deal and gets in the passenger side of the car.
I get in and put the key in the ignition. I rest my forehead on the steering wheel as the adrenaline wears off. “You okay, Braelyn?” Liam asks softly and touches my shoulder.
I smile at him. “Yeah, I’m fine. It just shook me up.” With shaky hands, I pull out of the parking lot in the direction of the closest steak house.
~*~
A few hours later, Liam walks out of the barbershop looking like a totally different kid. My eyes bulge at how good-looking he is. He must have got all the good genetics, something I lacked to get.
He opens the door and sits down. Sucking my lips into my mouth, I just stare at him. Liam peeks at me a few times before turning fully to me. I grin and grab both of his cheeks between my finger and thumb, squeezing his skin between them.
“You look so cute!” I squeal.
He blushes to the tip of his ears. I laugh at him as I wrap my arms around his shoulders and squeeze him.
“Thank you, Braelyn. For everything,” he says against my shoulder.
“You’re welcome, Liam.” I squeeze him a little tighter. My phone buzzes on my lap. I pick it up to see a text from Ethan.
Ethan: Since I was already home, I went ahead and put up the flat screen.
Me: We are heading home now. Take the stuff out of the bag and lay it out on his bed.
I can’t wait to see his reaction. I know I may be spoiling him, but he deserves this, and if I’m right—and I know I am—My dad never got anything. Our parents aren’t the most nurturing.
My life has changed so much these past couple of months. I went from someone living on the streets, scared, haunted by demons, living in my own personal hell, to a life full of laughter and love. Earlier, when that man pushed me, I didn’t freak out, and now that I think about it, I haven’t been afraid like I used to be in a long time.
Ethan made me see that life doesn’t have to be scary and that not all people are bad. It was all I knew from the hell I grew up in and the hell of living on the streets. I have been hiding inside myself, which was a huge part of my problems. I had been scared of my own shadows before he taught me what it is like to feel safe.
Now that I have Liam in my life, I’m filled with a new determination to make sure he doesn’t ever have to hurt or go without anything ever again. If I knew about him years ago, I wouldn’t have gone into myself like I did; I would have had something to fight for.
Lost in my thoughts, the ride home seems like seconds rather than twenty minutes. Liam is clenching and unclenching his hands when I notice the purple bruising on one.
“Are you okay?” I look down pointedly at his hand.
He shrugs. “These aren’t my first bruised knuckles.”
Sighing, I turn around the corner into Ethan’s neighborhood. “You didn’t have to do that.”
He looks at me like I’m dumb. “What was I supposed to do? Let him push you down and do nothing? Nah, you’re my sister and a man shouldn’t ever touch a woman like that unless he’s defending himself.”
“Wow...” I feel incredibly proud of him in that moment and don’t know what else to say to him. He is so young but so mature.
When we pull up in Ethan’s driveway, Ethan jumps off the porch to open my door for me. Torch waves at us all and drives away. Ethan grabs my hand and pulls me out of the car and straight to his lips.
Pulling away, I kiss the corner of his mouth. “Let’s get all this stuff inside.”
“No, you go on upstairs. I’ll handle this with Liam.” He gently tugs me toward the house. I’m tired, so I’m not going to argue. I walk inside the house and dump my purse on the couch, then walk up the stairs to Liam’s room so I can help put all his stuff away.
I am standing in the middle of the room when Ethan comes in first and winks at me. He sets the stuff on the floor and stands beside me. Liam sets the stuff down beside him and looks up to see what’s on his bed.
His mouth drops open. Then he turns around and spots the flat screen hanging on the wall. His hands shake as he looks back at Ethan and me. Smiling at him, I lean into Ethan, who wraps his arm around me.
“You didn’t have to that. You’ve done too much already.” His voice is shaky. I can spot tears in his eyes. He blinks them away and turns his head away from us.
“I wanted to. I bought the Xbox and games.” I point at Ethan. “He bought you the TV.”
Liam walks over to me and hugs me tightly. Then does the fist bump hug thing with Ethan. He winces when they bump fists, causing Ethan to look down at his hand.
“What happened?” I remember I forgot to tell him what happened. Before I can start, Liam tells him for me.
“Some dudes were trying to steal our shit and one pushed Brae to the ground. I knocked his ass out. Torch took care of the other one,” Liam explains. Ethan’s face turns into one of rage.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he growls at me and then turns me around, looking me over.
“I’m sorry, I kind of forgot.” I grimace knowing that’s not a good excuse. After he looks me over thoroughly, he tucks me into his side tightly and turns back to Liam. “Thanks, man, for watching over her.”
Liam shrugs and blushes under Ethan’s praise. “It was nothing.”
“Well, let’s get the rest of the stuff in.” Ethan tells Liam and lets me go. He grabs my hand and bends down so we are more eye level. “Stay here.”
Biting back a smart remark, I just mutter, “Yes, sir.”
His dark eyes let me know I’m getting it later for that. Grinning saucily, I reach forward and grab his dick through his pants. His eyes narrow and turn impossibly darker. He pulls away from me and walks out of the room without taking his eyes from me.
I giggle as I bend down to grab one of the bags. Taking out the shirts, I go to the closet and hang them up while Ethan and Liam carry the rest of the bags in one trip.
“Liam, you hang your jeans on this side and I’ll hang up all your shirts.” His closet has double doors. Finishing hanging the last shirt in that stack, I move on to the rest, while Ethan takes over setting up the Xbox.
An hour later, we are finally finished. Wiping the sweat off my brow, I walk downstairs and fall down onto the couch.
“Want to order a pizza?” Ethan yells from upstairs.
“Yeah!” I yell back and pick up the remote, turning on Dog the Bounty Hunter. Let’s be honest, the only reason we women watch that show is to see Leland in action, not that I would tell Ethan that. Ethan is very, very easy on the eyes to the point I feel like having to carry a stick to beat off all the women.
“Cheese?” Ethan yells again. I roll my eyes and yell back, “Yes, honey!”
“Smartass.” I hear him say but not as loud.
“Heard that.”
“Oh shit, you’re going to get it, man.” I hear Liam laugh. I grab the blanket off the back of the couch as I smile from ear to ear and snuggle deep into the cushions. Then I spot a water gun on the coffee table. Why is that here?
Smiling wickedly, I go to the sink in the kitchen to fill it up with cold water. Then I crouch down beside the stairs. “Ethan! I fell and can’t get up!” I yell. I cover my mouth with my hand to stifle my laugh.
I can hear Ethan running down the hallway to the stairs, then hear him running down the stairs and into the living room, where he stops and looks around the room. I stand up and walk up behind him.
“Ethan,” I say behind him while pumping the gun.
He turns around, his eyes narrowed. I pull the trigger and get him in the face and chest. He stands perfectly still for a few seconds even after the spray is gone. His eyes open and then an evil grin slowly crosses his face.
I chant
oh shit
in my head over and over as I turn around and run up the stairs at a dead sprint to Liam’s room. Ethan laughs and I can hear him walking up the stairs like freaking Jason who can just walk and still catch up to you.
Liam is sitting on his bed, playing Xbox. I slam his door and lock it. Liam jumps and stands up. Grinning at him, I sit in the middle of the floor with my water gun at the ready, knowing Ethan has a key.
“What are you doing?” Liam asks, confused.
“Having a water fight,” I whisper yell to him.
I watch the doorknob move as Ethan unlocks it. The door slowly opens. Pumping the water gun, I ready myself, but he doesn’t come into the room. I roll to my feet and peek out the door. I try to jump back when I see Ethan standing there with an evil grin on his face.
He throws open the door and grabs my hands before I can spray him. He bends down and lifts me over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry, my face at the middle of his back. He carries me out of the room and straight into our room.
Liam’s door shuts behind us, which Ethan takes as his cue to smack me hard on the butt. Yelping, I pinch his butt in retaliation. He pushes our door open and then slams it shut and locks it.
Hearing the click, I gulp and clench my legs together in anticipation. Ethan’s hand rubs my stinging butt. He bends down so I fall onto the bed with a smack. He tugs on the bottom of my shirt and lifts it above my head, then unclasps my bra and throws it down onto the floor.
His eyes darken as he looks at my breasts. They harden under his gaze and goose bumps ghost over my skin. His hands go to the waistband of my pants. I lift my hips so he can pull them off easily.
He strips off his clothes and pushes me down onto the bed, pressing his lips to mine. Sighing, I sink deeper into the kiss. My hands entwine in his hair. Ethan sucks my lip into his mouth, biting slightly. I moan as I tug on the ends of his hair.
His hand travels down my side and then to my pussy, where he trails a finger around my clit, teasing me. Closing my legs together, I trap his hand and raise my hips in the hope his fingers will do what my body is screaming for.
“Please,” I mutter against his lips. He chuckles and kisses down to my neck, nibbling slightly against the crook. I look up at him with needy eyes. “Do you want my fingers or my mouth?”
Need pools between my legs at his words. “Please,” I whisper, needing anything.
“You got it, babe.” He winks and slinks down my body. My toes stiffen in anticipation. His tongue dips into my belly button. I suck in my belly at the jolt.
Ethan spreads my legs, then his flattened tongue strokes my clit. My body jerks at the sensation. I put my legs over his shoulders onto his back while I can hear the sounds of him kissing and licking me.
His tongue strokes my slit before pushing in while his nose grinds against my clit. Then it moves back up to my clit while two fingers enter me and I explode, my legs strangling him.
“Turn over,” Ethan growls and smacks my hip for emphasis.
Doing as I’m told, I flip over onto my knees. He teases my clit with his dick before slamming home. I close my eyes and cry out at the sudden intrusion. He stills, letting me adjust until I push back against him.
His hand goes to the back of my shoulder and pushes me down until my face is against the mattress and my arms reach above my head to brace myself against the headboard.
Ethan pulls all the way back until only the tip is at my entrance. I let out a rush of air as he slams back in. My knees fly off the bed from the power of his thrust. He continues his powerful thrusts as the whole bed moves along with him.
His hand goes to my hair and lifts my head so my back is arched even more. Crying out, I lift one of my hands from the headboard so I can stifle my cries. Ethan lets go, and I bury my face back in the bed.
He reaches around and strokes my clit, sending me off like a rocket launcher. My toes curl under and my body jerks. My legs tremble while he continues to pound into me before he roars his release. My legs are shaking as he strokes me leisurely until he pulls out. I collapse down onto the bed.
Ethan lifts me off the bed and into his arms. My legs go around his waist, my head against his shoulder. My body feels like a limp noodle.
“Pretty sure I will be walking bow legged for days.” My voice is muffled against his shoulder.
“Good.” Ethan laughs. I giggle and hug him tighter to me as he lifts us up off the bed and into the bathroom.
He steps into the shower with me in his arms and washes me gently. I close my eyes, just feeling the movements of his hands cleaning my body, taking in the comfort of his hands running all over me.
Those hands that hold me tightly at night, the hands that protect me against my demons, hands that stroke my body as he makes love to me. I take one of them and place it against my cheek before kissing his palm.
Opening my eyes, I look up at him. His expression shows what I’m feeling. “I love you, Ethan.”
He closes his eyes for a second, shaking his head, then opens them and smiles. His hands go to either side of my jaw. “I love you too, Braelyn. You are my world.” He leans down and kisses my forehead.