Page 98 of Braving the Storm

“Did he ever lay a hand on you?” My grip tightens on my bottle. Forget digging Erik up out of his grave; I’m ready to board a flight to LA and smash this guy’s face in with a sledgehammer.

Briar shakes her head.

“Other than occasionally having sex, no. It was only what probably amounted to a few times, like it was some sort of annual obligation over the course of three years, give or take.” Now, it’s Briar’s turn to ruefully laugh. “I suppose I should be grateful, right? That my husband never wanted to touch me.”

“I fucking hate that he even got that much. The asshole didn’t deserve any piece of you, Briar.” I tell her with so much force, she gapes at me a little. As if no person has ever toldthis woman she deserves to be treated like she’s the most precious, important thing.

Not some kind of contract or deal.

“There’s stuff I have to sort out, with Cris.” Her lips roll together. “I didn’t have a plan before coming here except for running away. I still don’t have a plan. Other than starting a new life, minus a shitty ex-husband, of course.” Briar puffs out a small chuckle.

“Darlin’...” I cross the space between us and set my bottle down, cupping her face in both palms. “You’ve got me now. Forget all of it, fuck all of them, I’m not going anywhere, and I’ll protect you with every last breath I’ve got.”

Chapter 33

“What is this?” I pant against Storm’s mouth as he carries me wrapped around him through the house. Somehow, we always seem to go from zero to a hundred in the blink of an eye. “What are we even doing?”

He sets me down, then roughly tugs my sweater over my head.

I allow him to do so, making no effort to stop where things are headed, even though the rational part of my brain is still protesting out loud. As the material pulls free of my hair, it leaves my eyes bouncing rapidly, taking in our surroundings.

We’re now in a part of the house that is a very fancy, fully tiled, modern bathroom.

“What am I to you?” My gaze fixes on his handsomeness, filling the space in front of where he’s seated me beside the handbasin. Is there any chance this man feels as deeply for me as I do for him?

“Does it matter?”

“After everything we just shared? I think it does now.” I’m in so fucking deep; this is the moment I’ve been dreading. The part where he realizes I’m not worth the hassle being with me will undoubtedly bring to his life.

His business. His livelihood. What would revealing our true connection do to all of that? I’ll undoubtedly ruin it all, just like Ialways do for anyone who has the misfortune of getting close, then this man is going to hate me just as deeply as everyone else in my life does.

Storm fists my hair, yanking my head back. “You’re mine. You belong to me, darlin’.”

That sharp tug sends a straight line to my pussy.

“Is that enough assurance for you?” His voice is low and gritty, churning my body into a fiery need for him.

“Where have you been hiding this sparkling art of conversation?” I toss him an exaggerated roll of my eyes. Absolutely being the brat because right now, this scalding tension between us feels like it’s about to boil over. “All those years of dating, and those are the best sentiments you can come up with?”

The man in front of me makes a rough noise, his eyes flashing with something entirely dangerous for my health. He’s sinfully hot, ruggedly so.

I want this man to do very, very bad things to me.

“Women don’t want to date me, darlin’.” He shoves my knees wide, wedging himself in between my legs.

“I’m the guy they rebound with after their ex dumped them.” Calloused fingers swoop around my ribcage, deftly unhooking my bra before dragging it off me.

“I’m the one night stand, revenge sex.” Leaning closer still, my nipples tighten and beg him to make contact as he hovers over me, our noses nearly touching.

“I’m the bad decision at one a.m. that your parents warned you about.”

“Lucky my parents don’t give a shit. Both are dead.”

“All the more reason for youruncleto warn you then.”

“But you’re not that… are you?”

Those two blue pools, lined with streaks of silver and the faintest hints of copper, stare down at me with sanity-stealing intensity.